The tasty food, friendly vibes and political-oriented events at the Heartland Café, at 7000 N. Glenwood Ave. in Rogers Park, have kept customers coming back for 30 years. Sometimes, though, Heartland Café co-founder Kathleen Hogan encounters customers in unexpected places.

Sitting at a well-windowed table at the café on a sunny Friday afternoon, Hogan recalls trekking through mountains in Nepal, where she noticed that someone walking was wearing a Heartland Café T-shirt. She learned that the person used to go to the café. Hogan also recalls a camping trip in Alaska: A man staying in a nearby tent didn’t talk much at first, but after Hogan wore a Heartland Café T-shirt one day, the man told her, “That’s why I know you!” He recognized her from when he lived in Chicago and visited the café often. Other times customers, including folks who have left Chicago, return to the café after being away for 10 or 20 years.

Ever since Katy Hogan, 56, and Michael James, 64, opened the Heartland Café in 1976, they’ve provided loyal customers with fresh, wholesome food for the mind and body, and they’ll be celebrating the café’s 30th anniversary from Aug. 10 to Aug. 13. (See sidebar with a schedule of events.) About 50 employees run the café, which can seat up to 160 people.

Hogan and James, who both look younger than their ages, have a way of getting good conversations going and making folks feel welcome. Also, like going to a good wedding or funeral, a trip to the Heartland Café is one of those times when you talk about more than just the weather.

Like Rogers Park residents, café-goers at the Heartland Café represent many races, ethnicities, economic classes and ages. Different races can separate communities, but Hogan says, “That’s no good for the city.” Talking about the diversity of the neighborhood, she says, “It’s why we’re here.”

Thinking back to earlier times at the Heartland Cafe, Hogan recalls when Harold Washington came to the café two nights before he was elected in 1983 as Chicago’s first African-American mayor. Hogan didn’t learn that Washington would be coming to the café until fairly last minute, but she passed out as many leaflets around the neighborhood as she could before his visit.

Washington had a reputation for arriving late to places, Hogan says, and the night that he came to the cafe was no different. When he finally arrived outside the café, hundreds of people already were lined up outside the café. Hogan remembers that some people were even chanting, and the crowd was definitely multiracial. Washington asked her who all the people were, and she told him, “Welcome to the Unity Café!”

Even though the Heartland Café tends to attract mostly folks who consider themselves liberal, progressive and anti-George Bush, James and Hogan say they welcome folks with other political leanings as well. “It’s OK to disagree,” Hogan says.

The menu makes it clear that disagreeing about food preferences is alright, too: The café serves food that can satisfy not only vegetarians but also carnivores. Menu items include grilled free-range chicken sandwiches, buffalo burgers, whole-wheat pancakes, pan-fried organic catfish, scrambled organic tofu and more.

Many ingredients are organic, but others are not. Also, menu items often incorporate grains and vegetables. The café also serves more brown rice than anyone else in Illinois, Hogan says.

Talking about some of the café’s charm, Heartland Cafe manager Renee McGurk, 30, says that when you eat at the café, the place feels like your living room because it feels comfortable and welcoming.

The café also has a full bar, and, as James says, they serve “everything from carrot juice to Cuervo.”

Many people move to Rogers Park because of its diversity, and some regular café-goers have told Hogan and James that they moved to the community because of the café. Although Hogan says she always has liked Rogers Park, she says she would like to see fewer empty storefronts in the area. Also, she says she doesn’t want Rogers Park to lose any more reasonably priced apartments that could be converted into pricey condos.

Since some people consider Rogers Park an “in” neighborhood, that has resulted in some “greedy” people’s buying property and wanting to drive poorer people out of the neighborhood, James says. He adds that it is up to the people who do live in the neighborhood to keep it thriving for current residents.

Speaking about money situations, Hogan says that she and James were quite fortunate, for their building owner let them be rent-free for the café’s first three months. Hogan and James had about $4,000 when they decided to open the cafe, and they were down to $200 when the cafe opened.

Small businesses can be the life of city communities, Hogan says. Also, Rogers Park could have many more successful small businesses, she says, if building owners would give similar financial breaks to other potential business owners wanting to launch new businesses.

Hogan and James met in October 1975 at a Holly Near concert benefiting the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union (CWLU). California-based Near sang about social changes and equal rights, and at the time Hogan was working with the CWLU, a nationally recognized group that helped women get abortions before Roe v. Wade in 1973 legalized the right for women to have abortions.

“Everything is influenced by politics,” James says.

He says that the federal government’s money spent on the war with Iraq could be better spent on many other causes, including education, and he adds that such waste of money eventually strains small businesses.

When James and Hogan opened the Heartland Café, they wanted to open a place where folks could connect about health, personal growth and political topics. They are doing that and much more: Besides running the café, James and Hogan also run a theater space, a radio show and a store that carries many books, magazines, beauty products and other items.

Even though they are involved with running so many spaces and events, Hogan and James come across as relaxed, cheerful and full of energy. Maybe it really does have something to do with eating lots of veggies and all of that brown rice.

[[sidebar]] Thursday, August 10 The kick-off party features The Outlaw Family Band and the Long Gone Lonesome Boys. Free. Show starts at 9 p.m.

Friday, August 11 The Heartland Café’s 30th Anniversary Celebration and Reunion Party kicks off with conversations from owners Michael James and Katy Hogan as they remember the past 30 years with some of the Heartland Café’s closest friends and with music from DJ Leyva.

Saturday, August 12 Former employees and other guests on the Heartland’s radio show will talk about the Heartland. Also, the Heartland Cafe's 30th Anniversary dance party will feature Sexfist and Micki Crossant with Gyna B. Kray. The dance party starts at 9 p.m.

Sunday, August 13 The 30th Anniversary Finale will include a few words of thanks from Michael James and Katy Hogan. It also will feature jazz with Hamid Drake, Jebb Bishop, Jeff Parker, and Harrison Bankhead. The show starts at 7 p.m.