BraiZe

Bloomington, United States

4.7

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 309-262-2270
Website:
www.braizefood.com
Address:
1006 E Lincoln St, Bloomington, IL, 61701
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
2.9 miAmtrak - Bloomington-Normal
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Bitcoin
No
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Divey
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Full Bar
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (Bloomington) 21:13 Sunday, 22 June 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

BraiZe is a fresh new pop-​up restaurant conveniently located inside the VFW. We specialize in our signature BraiZito sandwiches. A BraiZito is a slice of French Bread hollowed out and stuffed with our carefully crafted menu items. BraiZe also specializes in buffet style catering for any size of event. Give us a call today to discuss options. Pick-​Up or Catering 309−262−2770. Experience BraiZe!

History

Established in 2014.

BraiZe opened its doors in September 2014 by Zack Poleto and Brandon Leach.

Braize is a new «Pop up“restaurant focusing on Chef Zack’s culinary works. BraiZe specializes in the BraiZito sandwich, a fresh and innovative take on sandwiches for Bloomington/​Normal, IL.

Brandon and Zack, both coming from Lexington, IL, wanted to support local farmers and offer dishes that utilize local ingredients.

When the opportunity arouse to take over the kitchen at the VFW Zack and Brandon viewed this as the perfect opportunity to achieve their dreams while giving back to the Veterans who have and are serving in the military.

The VFW acts as great base for their concept as it has a big dining hall doubling as a banquet hall for events, a bar, bowling alley, darts and pool.

With support from family and friends BraiZe will continue serving great food with great service.

Meet the Business Owner

Brandon Zack L.

Business Owner

Brandon is the General Manager and Co-​Owner of BraiZe. He joined the Navy in 2004 serving on the USS Nimitz completing two tours to the Middle East. Brandon is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University. Where he received a BA in Finance. Brandon has held positions with state agency’s and large credit union working in the capacity of a legal adjudicator and analyst.

Zack Poleto is the head chef and co-​owner of BraiZe. Zack attended the Culinary Hospitality Institute of Chicago, completing his degree in culinary arts. From there Zack went to work underneath James Beard award winning chef Art Smith at Table 52 in Chicago. Here Zack achieved the status of sous chef by working his way up through the culinary ranks. Zack then aspired to broaden his culinary expertise by moving to New York to work underneath renowned chef Dominic Bialy. Zack takes great pride in the food he serves utilizing local, fresh ingredients in his creative menu items.

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20 reviews of BraiZe

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Bloomington, IL
Delicious food in a unique setting (the American Legion Hall).
Place rating: 5
Bloomington, IL
Always great food and always new things. Me and the wife plan on taking some family. Next time they are in town.
Place rating: 5
Columbus, OH
Every roll in this place is fantastic. I will strongly recommend the Italian beef and the lobster roll. Very juicy, and couldn’t find the alternative one in other place. A hidden star in the middle of Bloomington.
Place rating: 5
Normal, IL
Excellent food! Always a great «sandwich» if you can call it just a sandwich. Go here! Would love to see them in their own place.
Place rating: 5
Mahomet, IL
This is an amazing hole-​in-​the-​wall (actually VFW) restaurant! Their sandwiches are delicious — hollowed out 6-​inch french bread, stuffed with whatever they are offering. So far, I’ve had the shrimp po-​boy which was great! The Rasta (jerk chicken with curry sauce) was amazing. And the Royale (roast beef with thousand island dressing) is amazing too. I haven’t had anything bad!!! So good. Worth the drive!
Place rating: 4
Le Roy, IL
Not your traditional sandwich or sub more of a pocket. Good flavor and great chips. Everything is made on the spot to order. The only downfall I see is that they are only open from 11 – 2 just for lunch. Unique combos and names .I will be back.
Place rating: 5
Champaign, IL
I have had bad experiences when it comes to lobster roll. I have tried three times in three different cities and every time I received poached lobster in a bun with mayo and lettuce, which tasted bland. I had almost given up on this, but then during my usual Unilocal surfing I stumbled upon Braize’s Unilocal page and read good reviews about their lobster roll and I HAD TO try this. My husband and I drove around 44 miles just to try their lobster roll on a rainy day. We had trouble locating their restaurant, so made a call to them. They are located inside VFW building (hard to locate Braize, if you are not the local). There was not much rush, may be because it was raining heavily. We ordered lobster roll and corn fritters. Food was served to our table very fast. Lobster roll was awesome and made me not to give up on my conquest for good lobster roll. It had big chunks of lobster with tomatoes and lettuce filled inside a buttery bun. Lobster tasted so fresh and juicy. It was a treat for my taste buds. Corn fitters were little sweet, crunchy outside and soft gooey inside… Heaven. I’m definitely going back there again to try their other sandwiches.
And yes, please keep soup in Summers too, I so much wanted to try the chowder.
Place rating: 5
Normal, IL
Easily one of the most unique and best restaurants in Bloomington-​Normal. Love the Brazito’s. The fried chicken was just okay though.
Place rating: 5
Bloomington, IL
OMG
Yes. OMG, don’t let the location turn you away from this tasty gem of a restaurant. It’s a simple menu not a lot of choice but, big on flavor. Rarely do I have that sensation where my mouth quivers and starts salivating just at the tought of food. This is that place… no frills, nothing fancy, just heaven in your mouth, as it should be.
Place rating: 4
Champaign, IL
First time here, very unique sandwich concept, like A LOT! Good flavor.
Had the Rasta — excellent!
Group had Italian beef, Royale with Cheese, all very delicious!
Sombero egg rolls… yum yum!
Would not have found this place if not for Unilocal,so Unilocal on, Unilocal on.
Place rating: 2
Peoria, IL
Maybe I just got the wrong items…
The sandwich I ordered was called the Royale with Cheese. If you are going to name a sandwich after an iconic pop culture reference, it better be good. This was not. It tasted like Hamburger Helper cheeseburger macaroni stuffed into a loaf of bread. To make matters worse, the whole thing was literally dripping with grease. I would not recommend this sandwich to anyone.
The appetizer sounded like a good idea, but was also not done any justice. It was supposed to be corned beef eggrolls, but tasted more like someone stuffed them with old crab rangoon innards and then jammed a minuscule portion of corned beef in just for color. To top it off they were not cooked hot enough nor long enough, so instead of a crispy, golden brown treat I was served a pale yellow, soggy, greasy mess.
Even the lemonade was not very good. How do you screw up lemonade???
I am planning on going back to give this place another try since so many people have rated it so highly. Hopefully I just caught them on a bad day.
Place rating: 5
Stanford, IL
My friend took me to lunch at BraiZe today. WOW! I ordered the Rocky and she ordered the Royale with Cheese, and we shared. We also ordered both kinds of chips and the Elvis egg rolls.
The braizitos were amazing and I can’t wait to go back and try a different one. The chips were good — the sweet potato were my favorite. The Elvis egg rolls were different, but good. I think if there had been more peanut butter, they could have been great.
I had heard that the food was a little pricey. I disagree completely! The braizito alone is enough for two meals, not including the homemade chips! I would have taken half of mine home, but I couldn’t stop eating it.
Looking forward to returning soon (and often) and recommending BraiZe to everyone!
Place rating: 5
Bloomington, IL
Don’t be turned off by the location– #insidetheVFW (which is a surprisingly clean and well maintained VFW by the way).
My only complaint, is the sandwich is too big. For real. It’s huge. Braize is only open for lunch, and once you eat lunch here, you need a nap. Don’t even try to go back to work. Go to bed.
The Brazito is made on this amazing, delicious homemade bread tube that is buttery goodness and love all wrapped up in carbohydrates. The homemade sweet potato chips are crispy and delightful. I would give my eye teeth to eat the insides of the bread that are pulled out to make way for amazing stuffing.
This lunch spot offers true delicious vegetarian fare in their special of the week. Last week I enjoyed the sweet potato curry (to die for) and previously they had a pea combo. Plus, carnivores are highly satisfied with the variety of specialties including Asian pork, jerk chicken, and lobster rolls. I highly recommend the Royale with Cheese.
And the cookies! or bread pudding! or… whatever fabulous dessert selection is homemade!
What a creative, authentic, tasty, popular lunch spot.
Place rating: 5
Bloomington, IL
This is quickly becoming a favorite lunch spot for my Friday splurge. The Rasta, Royale with cheese and the Buffalo are on permanent rotation for me. You have to go with the sweet potato chips (even if you’re not usually a fan)… Trust me. And the cookies are the perfect way to end this delicious, flavor-​filled experience. Oh and before I go, I just want to say that the bread concept is pure genius. I’ve never eaten a sandwich so juicy with so little mess. Kudos!
Place rating: 5
Normal, IL
Omg this was so worth the hype! Got the ROYALE WITH CHEESE and sweet potato fries. The sandwich was so juicy and had great flavor and the sweet potato chips were lite and very good! Everything had the quality as if it was homemade (which I’m sure it is).
(nerd incoming)
The path of the hungry man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men who don’t go to BraiZe. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak and buys them BraiZe. For he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost meals. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to destroy my brothers and I’s experience at BraiZe. And you will know I am hungry when I lay my tastebuds upon you!
Place rating: 5
Bloomington, IL
Sweet. Baby. Jee. Zus. BraiZe is incredible, and is one of the few place I can get a fresh cooked vegetarian meal.
Let break it down for you. It all starts with the bread. Your Brazzito comes in a solid piece of French bread, that is genuinely delicious. They hole that bad boy out into some sort of carb tube. Why? The filling. Their cleverly named specials range from a classic Buffalo to a Jamaican-​jerk mastery, and the rotating vegetarian option is no after thought either. I’ve had a beet-​falafel hybrid, sweet potato curry, and mushroom melt to name a few. They top it off with cheese and sauce, as if you needed another reason to go. But that’s not all, ladies and gentlemen. Oh no. They take the bread-​capped end, dip it right into some garlic butter, and toast that mofo right then and there.
They also offer chips and pickle spears, but they all sit to the side while I go to town.
Place rating: 4
Boston, MA
I don’t come back to Bloomington often these days, but when I do, it’s nice to see new places like Braize doing their part to elevate the food scene.
Braize makes a sort of hybrid burrito/​sandwich, and it’s a great idea. Their food is delicious, approachable, and the kind of thing that will make local eaters pause and think about what they’re getting for their lunch money elsewhere.
Place rating: 4
Saint Louis, MO
THIS PLACE IS INSIDE THE VFW!
I was just about to drive away because I knew I had to be at the wrong place. I just happened to notice that on the bumper of the BraiZe truck it said «Inside the VFW». I guess all the locals know, but I’m not a local…
The service was very friendly and very fast! I ordered at Rasta and a Fat Tuesday (both on a salad and both with a side of sweet potato fries) for my husband and me to share. We enjoyed both so much, I don’t think we could choose a favorite! The jerk seasoning punched me in the face with cinnamon, which I totally dug! And the Fat Tuesday was meat piled on top of delicious meat!
I wasn’t super impressed by the sweet potato chips — they’re so thinly cut that they crumble at the slightest touch. 80% of my chips were smaller than the size of my thumb nail. They were mildly seasoned and I happily ate the whole bag, I just wish there’d been more whole chips.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
I ordered the Braiz’n Buffalo today… And I have to say the sandwich was amazing. Important note about the sandwich, it starts out amazing, but even the last couple bites where you’ve eaten most of the sandwich and you are like «aw man there’s just bread left»… just wait, because the grilled and buttered bread at the end is pretty divine too! It was a fairly heavy sandwich… From the slaw, breaded chicken, and sauces… But if that’s ok with you it is well worth it.
This is a wonderful Bloomington find, near State Farm, and reasonably priced for the size of the sandwiches (leaning slightly towards pricey). The yummy pickle and the chips are a nice addition. I usually dislike sweet potatoes but the sweet potato chips are great, and from my limited experience far superior to the Idaho potato chips.
Two cons, but not enough to detract stars. It gets BUSY, the line gets long! But hey, a sandwich this good is worth the wait, and the food itself is quick. There is no free cup of water option. So be prepared to buy yourself a beverage, although I honestly don’t believe it would be a problem if you carried in your own drink.
Try this place, and enjoy. It was fantastic!
Place rating: 5
Normal, IL
Wow! I’m blown away by this place.
All local ingredients, house made bread and chips, and really unique Brazitos (hallowed out french bread with lots and lots of stuff inside).
I got the Rasta and it was incredible. I can’t wait to go back and try something else.
It was a bit strange going into the VFW for lunch, but I think it’s a great setup for now. I hope that they get their own spot someday, but for now at least they have a place to showcase their amazing food!