The Medici restaurant is a place for thought and discussion.
In 1962, Hans Morsbach bought the Medici Gallery and Coffeehouse, a small coffee shop in the back of the Green Door Bookstore, for the bargain price of $1400. We are often asked about the significance of the Medici name – at the time, Hans retained the Medici name because he could not afford to change the sign.
In the beginning, we just sold art and coffee from a tiny shop in the back. Eventually, we added pizza and hamburgers and have been growing ever since. Over the years, we've been a lot of things to many people. We've been a hippie haven, a student hang-out, and a late-night urban oasis for generations of south siders. During the sixties, the Medici was a hotbed of anti-war activity (the Conspiracy Seven hung out here), which made our restaurant unpopular among more conservative neighbors.
We've changed a lot over the years, but a devoted staff and commitment to good food and service remains the same. The majority of what we serve is made from scratch by people who care. We are proud to be locally owned, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible.
We are the Medici.
FAQs
Does that statue turn?
On a platform high above the two story main restaurant stands an Indian temple guard purchased in Vienna by the late owner Hans Morsbach. She is made of wood and stands 6 six high. One of Hans’ many eccentric ideas was that she should rotate. So once every hour she makes a complete turn causing many customers to blink and say “is she moving?”
Who are the gargoyles in the façade?
An early Medici customer was a young man by the name of Walter Arnold. A stone carver by trade he created the original Medici gargoyle. After training in Italy, Walter spent 5 years working on the Washington National Cathedral in DC, just the start of an illustrious career. When the Medici opened in its present location, Walter was called upon to design the façade. He carved the name of the restaurant in limestone flanked by a gargoyle eating pizza on one end and gargoyle drinking coffee on the other. Over the door is the carving of the late owner Hans Morsbach wearing a bishop’s hat perhaps blessing those who enter.
What does the name come from?
In 1962, Hans Morsbach brought the Medici Gallery and Coffeehouse, a small coffee shop in the back of the Green Door Bookstore, for the bargain price of $1400, We are often asked about the significance of the Medici name. At the time, Hans retained the Medici name because he could not afford to change the sign. For the record, the Medicis were leaders in Florence during the Renaissance.
What’s up with the wood slabs?
The slabs are spalted maple from the Morsbach farm in Wisconsin where Hans planted thousands of trees. His experiences on the farm led him to write the book Common Sense Forestry.
What is the Medici?
The Medici has been in Hyde Park since, roughly, forever. It has been in its current location longer than the current crop of undergrads have been alive. And I’ve worked there longer than I care to admit. In my (let’s call it) illustrious Medici career, I’ve been asked thousands of questions. Some are common: Where is the Robie House? Some are less common: Can I get half this pizza thin crust and the other half pan? But the one I’m interested in today is: What/who is the Medici?
This is a question I get a lot. I like to give different details with every answer. Lorenzo de’ Medici was the patron of all things Eye-talian and TWO of his sons became Pope. Catherine de’ Medici was briefly the regent of France and close personal friends with Nostradamus. Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici was known as “Piero the Unfortunate” and was the Gran maestro of Florence until he was exiled for basic incompetence. Seriously, though, Lorenzo raised two Popes! When all is said and done, four Popes were Medicis. But what does this have to do with a burger/pizza/milkshake joint? On the surface? Very little.
The Medici (the restaurant) isn’t so much an Italian restaurant. It serves quesadillas and Moroccan ragout for Pete’s sake. We make Eggs Florentine for breakfast, but Florence isn’t a strong influence on our food. Plus, I think I can safely say that I am working with no future Popes. (Prove me wrong, Yaya!) But the legacy of the Medici family is something of an aspiration for the restaurant. The Medici family included heads of state, leaders of men, patrons of the architecture and sciences. Despite various flaws, they provided for an age where art and humanism could grow. They commissioned works from Raphael and Michelangelo, (possibly Master Splinter), and had their children taught by Galileo.
The Medici restaurant is a place for thought and discussion. It’s a place where we’ve served the Obamas, David Axelrod, and the like. We’ve employed actors, directors, musicians, cartoonists, and all sorts of other artists. It’s a place where we showcase the artwork of our employees and the artwork of Matisse. It’s a place where what you see on our walls has a history, and isn’t there because the TGIFridays corporation thought it would provide proper flair. We are the Medici. (And to answer that most common question we pronounce is “Med-itchy”.)