Cafe Nova Cooks Up Sri Lankan for College Students

The diverse flavors, large portion sizes and low prices offered at 6431 N. Sheridan Road provide Loyola students with an escape from dining hall food. 

Cafe Nova has served Rogers Park with authentic Sri Lankan and Indian cuisine since March 2023. Opening Sri Lankan culture up to those who’ve never experienced it is a main goal of the restaurant, owner Kisothan Sivarasa said.

“This is what I ate growing up,” Sivarasa said. “This is what reminds me of home. I just want to share that with everybody that could possibly come visit.”

Bringing his love of food from Vavuniya, Sri Lanka to Chicago in 2016, Sivarasa said he found his new neighborhood of Rogers Park a welcoming place open to cultural variation. 

“I just love the diversity, how people are open to support the different kinds of cuisines,” Sivarasa said.

Restaurant ownership wasn’t always in Sivarasa’s plan. Just three months before graduating from medical school at Richmond Gabriel University, Sivarasa said he decided to drop out and do what he truly wanted with his life.

“I’ve always had this thing where I wanted to serve people and stuff like that, to introduce people to our cultures,” Sivarasa said.

So, he forged a new life path and began working at Indian restaurants around Chicago. Eventually, pandemic related closures of South Asian cuisine spots inspired Sivarasa to establish his own place. 

Sivarasa said starting up was difficult without the guidance of an experienced business professional to steer him through marketing and management processes.

Simply finding the right commercial space took six months. While he optioned various locations throughout Chicagoland, Sivarasa said he remembered Rogers Park’s warm receptivity to diversity and was motivated to lock down the current spot between Loyola’s bookstore and Campus Safety office.

While he didn’t have professional business help, he did have chef Ravi Bopage. The two met in 2016 while working at now-closed West Ridge restaurant Mysore Woodlands. Bopage brought vast knowledge about Sri Lankan cuisine to Chicago when he moved from the nation’s capital, Colombo, in 2013. 

“He brought in his own thing,” Sivarasa said. “I’m from the Northern part and he’s from the Southern part, so that has helped us bring the entire culinary part of Sri Lanka to the restaurant.”

Together they’ve built an expansive menu with 22 entrees — ranging from house specials like biryani and kothu roti to curries and stir-fries — along with deep-fried sides and breads. 

The menu doesn’t limit Bopage, though, who said he likes to prepare “more and more new things,” like experimental varieties of curry.

A wide-ranging menu doesn’t translate to an overwhelmed restaurant, however. The front of house is generally quiet and still, with tall ceilings creating a roomy atmosphere.

Upon entrance, customers can order at touch-screen kiosks and seat themselves at one of ten tables. Such patron self-service methods are utilized as the restaurant operates with just four full-time employees. 

Sivarasa said he wants to extend Cafe Nova’s reach into more of the Loyola community.

“We just want to let the kids know, the students know, just come give us a shot,” Sivarasa said. “We are always happy to do any free beverages, or you guys are welcome to use the facility as long as you want.”

A sign in front of the restaurant promotes free iced coffee with any purchase exclusively for Ramblers — just one of the many efforts Cafe Nova is making to reign in more students. 

Sivarasa said catering events for student groups increases awareness of the restaurant around campus. Loyola’s Indian Student Organization ordered mango lassis from Cafe Nova for their painting night event last year. 

“Working with them was a wonderful experience as they were highly communicative and very efficient,” ISA Secretary Sarah Savani wrote in an email to the Phoenix. 

Having lived on a student budget himself, Sivarasa said he intentionally caters to the student population through large portions and prices under $20. He plans to create a coffee counter within the store with price-reduced java and fast transactions to suit customers’ busy schedules. 

With other improvements in its ceilings, floors, side paneling and decor ongoing through mid-October, Sivarasa said he hopes to create a comfortable space where Ramblers can hang out. 

Bopage and Sivarasa both said they think a stigma around South Asian cuisine, and foreign restaurants in general, hold people back from walking into Cafe Nova.

“I just think that they’re not open to it,” Sivarasa said. “But when they try it, they like it.”

Customers hesitant to try South Asian food due to the spiciness can customize their heat level when ordering. Bopage said he can make the dishes milder without sacrificing authentic flavors.

Sivarasa said he’s still learning what it takes to run a restaurant and that he appreciates customer reviews as they help Cafe Nova evolve. 

Increasing accessibility through student engagement is proving successful, according to Sivarasa, who said he sees many repeat student customers advertising Cafe Nova to their communities.

“We just want them to come use it, simple as that,” Sivarasa said. “What we are hoping for is just for them to have a comfortable space to sit and eat what they want, literally just enjoy, experience Sri Lanka with us.”

Cafe Nova, located at 6431 N. Sheridan, is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. The menu can be found on their website.