OAK PARK EATS

Seven ways to satiate your caffeine cravings

Craving a cup of joe? Our community is percolating with ways to enjoy a jolt every day of the week. No matter if you need to kick off your morning with a hot coffee of cool off with an afternoon pick me up, we have all the answers you need to give yourself a good old case of the jitters. If you need some rocket fuel to get through your day, here are seven spots to get your next caffeine infusion!

ADDIS CAFÉ, 801 S Oak Park Ave., made a bold leap across Oak Park Ave. in spring of 2022. Café owner Kalkidan Tesfaye (known to most as Kalki) made the move to facilitate a wealth of opportunities for her community-minded shop known for serving up pour over coffee and other specialty drinks.

“Coffee in Ethiopia is meant to be shared — one pot would serve many people so friends, neighbors and sometimes even strangers would share a pot,” said Tesfaye. “My customers have spent time getting to know my customs and they have become like a family to me.”

Savor an artful honey nutmeg latte or golden-hued turmeric latte with some crispy waffl es next time you visit this welcoming coffee shop.

Chill out with and iced beverage from BREWPOINT CRAFT, 163 S Oak Park Ave. Melissa Villanueva, founder and CEO of Brewpoint Coffee, promised to “hit it out of the park for coffee lovers” when she opened Oak Park’s Brewpoint location in Spring of 2021. The woman and minority owned micro chain forms strong direct trade relationships to facilitate the production of their awardwinning coffee.

On a recent visit we sampled a rainbow of iced beverages including a notable pina colada matcha. A standout on the seasonal drink menu, the grassy hued beverage brings pineapple juice, coconut, green tea and oat milk together in a well-balanced summery sip. If you fancy a purple beverage, look no further than Brewpoint’s ube coconut frappe. The vibrant beverage makes use of trendy purple sweet potato, but traditionalists will appreciate the café’s espresso, cappuccino and spiced chocolate options all year long.

The well-loved BUZZ CAFÉ, 905 S Lombard Ave., has been a hub for coffee lovers since 1998. Owner Laura Maychruk created a cozy place known for serving up homey meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Vegan and organic options are available in abundance at the artsy café prized for making coffee drinks with a custom blend of Chicago-based Metropolis coffee.

Expert baristas serve thoughtfully made cappuccinos crowned with a cloud of foam. The timeless drink is delightful on its own, but even better with a cheesy egg sandwich or hearty bistro wrap. Any meal enjoyed at the mainstay café located in the heart of the Harrison Street Arts District comes with the opportunity to engage in lively conversation with members of the community, but The Buzz is just steps away from the CTA blue line making it an ideal morning stop for commuters.

MELISSA ELSMO

Food Writer

Lovers of fl avored coffees would do well to visit GRND COFFEE HOUSE, 140 Harrison St., to snag a bag of beans. The purveyors of specialty cakes, teas and original artwork primarily focus on selling responsibly grown and locally sourced coffee via monthly subscription; savvy locals can pop by the boutique to pick up a bag whenever the urge strikes. The family run business also offers iced coffee drinks chilled with frozen coffee cubes. Popular blends include Hazelnut Nirvana, Black Lion, and Take me to Cuba. GRND’s Vanilla Dream is made with Madagascar Vanilla Beans.

Bridgette Chatman-Lewis, co-owner of GRND, is quick to say their business is pronounced “Grind without the I” and wants the public to know they are not “your typical coffee shop.” The family takes pride in serving smooth blend coffees and plans to expand their operation to include a selection of grab and go meal items and cup cakes in the coming year.

South East Oak Park resident, Ryan Thompson, wanted to get into the neighborhood coffee game for quite some time before hooking up a small scale drum roaster to his back yard grill—he began delivering subscription orders by bike in South Oak Park in 2020. Today the mastermind behind SIDEYARD COFFEE, sideyardcoffee.com, has upgraded to a commercial grade Mill City roaster and churns out 50 pounds of coffee per week for folks on his expanding list of subscribers.

“We are doubling our production every year,” said Thompson. “We offer porch pick up or weekly delivery by

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Sideyard Coffee focuses on sourcing high-quality sustainable green beans and roasts them in six-pound batches. The rotating array of single origin bean comes with a weekly e-newsletter that boasts a song best listened to while savoring a cup of the weekly roast. Thompson is dedicated to the chemistry behind the roast and works to coax the best from every bean. Subscribers are certainly spoiled on Sideyard Coffee— the attention to detail during the roasting process produces nuanced cups of coffee every week.

Housed in the former home of Gilchrist Hardware, WHIRLWIND COFFEE COMPANY, 513 Madison St., opened for business at the height of the pandemic. After revitalizing the property and installing an environmentally friendly Sanfranciscan drum roaster, David Silverstein, Whirlwind owner, has been welcoming coffee lovers to his philanthropic roastery and café.

The bright café offers single origin Sumatran, Ethiopian, and Columbian beans as well as specialty blends like Shake a Leg crafted with coffee from Mexico, Sumatra, and Brazil. Whirlwind’s gorgeous lattes pair beautifully with thoughtfully sourced food items like croissants from Publican Quality Bread.

Silverstein trained as a roaster in Minneapolis and fell in love with the science behind roasting green coffee beans. Passion led him to open the small batch roastery, but Whirlwind also exists to give back to the community. The forprofit business has a profitsharing approach designed to bolster area non-profi t organizations--100% of net profits from sales at Whirlwind go to charity.

Enjoy and mocha and a samosa at WISE CUP, in Downtown Oak Park, 1018 Lake St. Coffee shop owners, Naveen and Shivangi Khetarpal, offer an array of traditional coffee and pastries as well as a smattering of Indian dishes including fl avorful samosas and yogurt-based mango lassis.

Coffee drinks at Wise Cup are made with Sputnik Coffee roasted in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood and the list of favorites is long. On a recent visit to the bustling café, we enjoyed a bit of spice—we sipped their perennially popular Mayan Mocha boasting dark chocolate and espresso with a dash of cinnamon and cayenne pepper. We paired the luscious drink with a handmade samosa fi lled with potatoes and peas. It was a perfect lunch unique to our Oak Park community!

Photos: Melissa Elsmo

New Kribi location percolates in Oak Park

Expansion is on the horizon for KRIBI COFFEE. The Forest Park air roastery and coffee shop, at 7324 Madison St., is introducing a sibling space in Oak Park. The second location (opening in July 2022) will be housed at Cross Function, a fl exible workspace in the Boulevard Arcade building, at 1033 South Blvd.

Since opening in January of 2019, Jacques Shalo, owner of Kribi Coffee, has been working to carve out a unique identity for his independent roastery in the congested and competitive coffee shop business. Shalo credits Kribi’s “four tenets,” freshness, method, sourcing, and giving back, for their rapid rise on the local coffee scene.

The diminutive Oak Park location will cater to people utilizing the Cross Function offi ces and will also be open to the public. Kribi’s Cross Function location aims to attract commuters hopping on and off the nearby Green Line. The arrival of Kribi’s e-commerce app, available on Android and iOS, will coincide with the opening of the Oak Park location and appeal to those looking for convenient grab-and-go ordering options.

In addition to roasting green coffee beans on-site, Kribi’s popular K-pods and cold brew growlers will also be available in Oak Park. New bag art from Jerimiah Shalo will also make its debut in 2022.

Haven’t had your coffee yet today? Let’s recaff!

ADDIS CAFÉ KRIBI COFFEE

801 S Oak Park Ave., Oak Park

BREWPOINT CRAFT

163 S Oak Park Ave., Oak Park

BUZZ CAFÉ

1033 South Blvd., Oak Park (Opening July ‘22)

SIDEYARD COFFEE

sideyardcoffee.com

WHIRLWIND COFFEE COMPANY

905 S Lombard Ave., Oak Park

GRND COFFEE HOUSE

513 Madison St., Oak Park

WISE CUP

140 Harrison St., Oak Park Downtown Oak Park, 1018 Lake St.