Schools
EPCHS Alum In The Spotlight: Jill McGrath, Class Of 1985
A co-owner of Porter Cullens restaurant at 99th and Clifton Park is proud to call Evergreen Park Community High School her alma mater.
EVERGREEN PARK, IL — A co-owner of one of Evergreen Park’s most beloved local restaurants is proud to call Evergreen Park Community High School her alma mater.
Porter Cullens’ Jill McGrath — maiden name Casey — has nothing but fond memories of her time at EPCHS in the early 1980s.
“What I remember most were all the events that were going on, like Friday night football games, being part of the pom-pom squad, basketball games in the winter, all the dances and proms, being part of some musicals and traveling to Nashville to compete in a choir competition,” McGrath said.
Find out what's happening in Evergreen Parkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
She added that the faculty was “very approachable.”
“(They) had a great rapport with the student body. It just seemed like there was a lot of school spirit in the halls of EP in the 80s.”
Find out what's happening in Evergreen Parkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
McGrath went on to college at Eastern Illinois University, where she graduated in 1989 with a bachelor of science degree in food and nutrition, with an emphasis on food science. She then worked for the NutraSweet company based in north suburban Mount Prospect, performing research and product development of beverages and food products containing the artificial sweetener known as NutraSweet or Aspartame.
Before opening Porter Cullens in 2014 with her husband, Michael, and friends Jerry and Anne Doorhy, McGrath was raising her five children. She took on what she described as a “very intense home therapy program” for her twins who were diagnosed with autism in 1997.
“It was like running a small business,” she said. “It took a lot of learning, and training tutors in the field of applied behavioral analysis: which is the teaching model for people with autism.”
Porter Cullens, at the southwest corner of 99th Street and Clifton Park Avenue, opened eight years ago at the former AJ Meats site.
“(We) completely gutted the property,” McGrath said. “And worked very hard on the design of the restaurant to make you feel like you might be in a higher end pub in Ireland in the 1920s era.”
“We opened this restaurant for the neighborhood,” she added. “We wanted to add something special, a great place to come meet family, friends and neighbors, have special events and a great meal or specialty drink.”
McGrath cites EPCHS as a reason she decided to move back to Evergreen Park to start a family.
“EPCHS was a great place to go to high school,” she said. “It gave me a solid base and sense of the importance of community and friendships.”
“The changes that the high school has made since I left are amazing, and students have an awesome learning environment and staff to help them achieve their dreams!!”
