The Coffee Studio

Where have we gone?

2010-01-28T10:50:00.003-06:00

We're still here... making coffee. It's just that full on blogging is so 2008.

Just kidding!

For more current updates, please follow us on Twitter or Facebook or our website thecoffeestudio.com

Hope to see you around the shop!

- Lee and Miguel

Smart peeps unite!

2008-10-28T12:37:00.003-06:00

Yup, Scrabble Night is back.

Wednesday Nov. 5th: 6:30pm - 8:30pm.

Are you awesome? Maybe you'll win a copy of the book, Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players, or maybe you'll just drink some great coffee, have some tasty snacks, meet some smart people and have some wordy fun.

So pass the word around (heh-heh), 'cause the more the merrier!

(This event is free.)

Friday: Andersonville's 'Night of 100 pARTies!'

2008-09-30T19:31:00.003-06:00

Friday, October 3rd is the launch of Andersonville Arts Weekend (October is Chicago Artists Month!) with opening receptions at many of the sixty Andersonville businesses hosting artwork, including The Coffee Studio.

Come by between 6.00pm and 9.00pm this Friday evening for our artists reception and check out the work of Justin Santora, Robert C. Anderson and Curtis Staiger. Then mosey on through the whole neighborhood and discover more parties and performances that will be lighting up the entire neighborhood.

More information at: http://www.andersonville.org/artsweekend

Scrabble Night @ The Coffee Studio

2008-09-23T12:32:00.003-06:00

Wednesday, October 1st is our first ever Scrabble Night at The Coffee Studio. All skill levels are welcome (we'll try not to match newbies to world champions, of course). Boards and dictionaries provided. We'll be giving out tips and tricks for novices and sweet prizes for those who got game. Come on, you smarties, don't miss it!

The Coffee Studio is located at 5628 N Clark St. in Andersonville.
Open 6.30am to 9pm everyday.
www.thecoffeestudio.com
(This event is free.)

Heads Up: Bicycle Film Festival 2008 - Chicago! (Aug 6-10)

2008-08-01T08:00:00.005-06:00

Most of you probably know by now but we're big, big bike fans around here.

We hosted a bicycle-related art show and party a few months ago during Andersonville Bike Week, we participated in the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation Commuter Challenge last month and a pretty good share of our rock-star baristas (and a lot of our coolio customers, too) pedal their way to The Coffee Studio everyday!

So, we're also proud to be a sponsor of the 8th Annual Bicycle Film Festival.
Check it out:

Bicycle Film Festival 2008, Chicago!
August 6 - 10 at Columbia College.

The Bicycle Film Festival is a celebration of bicycles through film, art and music.
All screenings take place at Columbia College, 1104 S. Wabash, 8th floor.

Valet bicycle parking provided by Chicagoland Bicycle Federation at all screenings.

For more information, visit http://bicyclefilmfestival.com/2008_site/chicago/

General Schedule:

free mac troubleshooting/tutoring at The Coffee Studio

2008-07-11T12:29:00.008-06:00

head's up, you Apple freaks...

macucation will be at The Coffee Studio on Tuesday, July 22nd from 6-8pm offering free Macintosh maintenance, troubleshooting and tutoring.

just bring yo' mac, drink somethin' delicious, get 'fixed' or get smarter. that's all there is to it.

tell your Apple-ey friends.

peace.

We're hiring...

2008-06-23T11:36:00.001-06:00

The Coffee Studio is ready to hire and train some new baristas. Woo-hoo!

Check out our Employment page for more info.

BIKE LOVE Party - Friday, May 16th

2008-05-08T16:36:00.004-06:00

In coordination with Andersonville Bike Week (May 12-18), we are hosting "BIKE LOVE: a graphic celebration of the bicycle", a multi-artist display of cycle-inspired artwork from May 10 to June 9th, 2008.

And that means a party...

Join us for a chill artists' reception and Bike Week celebration on Friday, May 16th from 6.30pm to 9.30pm at the shop.

(Super dope photo courtesy of the pseudo-Danish Mr. Jun Lee. Thank you, sir!)

Imbibe

2008-04-23T15:56:00.005-06:00

It's pretty cool when a national magazine you think is pretty cool thinks you're pretty cool too:

design blogs to while away a rainy monday...

2008-03-31T09:26:00.004-06:00

Thought I might pass along a link to a newish little blog that's heavy on design AND Andersonville (two of my fa-vor-ite things). You can start with a nice little review of our humble Studio.

Speaking of design blogs and Andersonville... Larry over at Scout down the street (who happens to be one of our regulars) got a nice little mention on designwatcher, a blog you might like.

And just in case you're still looking to waste some time reading about coolio stuffs, maybe head on over to Apartment Therapy-Chicago, where they're in the middle of an 8-week (Spring) Home Cure. I just bought the book and it full of great, practical perspectives on design and creating a holistically healthy "home".

WE R CHICAGO

2008-02-11T18:17:00.001-06:00

apparently.

thanks, guys!

finally... the building power upgrade work

2008-02-05T16:08:00.000-06:00

I know it will be better soon, but boy is bad right now...

It's a miracle any of our customers can even see that we're open, let alone fight their way into the shop and then put up with the intermittent jackhammering and dust storms.

Serenity now...
Serenity now...

joe who?

2008-01-18T17:22:00.001-06:00

*smiles*

We got this nice little write-up in the food section of the Tribune this Wednesday.

For the record, not all of our baristas are bearded.

Time Out... Critics' Picks

2008-01-10T12:53:00.000-06:00

Yay!!!

Ahhhh....

2008-01-03T09:02:00.000-06:00

Finally a chance to take a deep breath...

Nice.

So... Happy New Year from our Happy New Coffee Shop!

We're alive and well, closing up our fourth week of being open for business. I guess tomorrow is the start of our fifth week, though I swear that must have been the fastest four weeks ever!

We already have quite the cadre of regulars, and of course we want to thank all you guys who have posted to the blog or come by the shop to check it out and meet us. It's been our pleasure, for sure, and we hope to see more of you!

Now that we've got the basics down (e.g. aren't running out of milk, coffees and pastries every other day!), we're regrouping and figuring out how to do what we're doing even better. Our staff has been awesome, very flexible and patient, and they're all learning by leaps and bounds which is amazing to watch.

We've got a lot of work still ahead of us, but now that Miguel and I are at least sleeping and eating more like human beings, anything seems possible!

Other stuff in the works:
We're still down a Robur grinder... we see signs of ComEd around the place, but no promised electrical upgrade delivery date yet!

Our full exterior signage is still waiting on our contractors/trades' schedules, but we might put up some temporary signage to get a bit more street visibility.

More descriptive interior signage/informative descriptions/explanations is in the plan too... hope to find some time for it soon.

Developing our ongoing training program/coffee eduction plan. We're on our way to everyone at meeting our minimums, now we try to figure out how to get to the maximums!

Marketing.... letting people know we're here! We've got some press in the works and we'll be brainstorming how to focus our efforts. Hopefully a "Grand Opening" shin-dig will be a part of this.

Other stuff. Office stuff. Money stuff. Taxes stuff. Vendor stuff. Staff stuff. You know... running-a-coffee-shop-stuff.

I'll tell you though, all that stuff... SO much better than waiting-on-utilities-stuff!!! The "yay!" still hasn't gone away yet. Yay! Yay! Yay!

So come on by. We'll be smiling. We'll do coffee.

open!!!

2007-12-09T11:02:00.000-06:00

no time for posting, kids! we opened friday.

customers are kickin' our butts. it's awesome!

but we're running out of coffee, milk, pastries, singles... i have to go run to the bank right now (my scary first time leaving the shop since we've been open - yes, we're open from 6.30am to 9pm!).

it's been a week of 21 hour days (literally), and plenty of scrambling... but the team is kickin' it and the customers seem totally psyched! so, yah!

we're all (sleepy) smiles.

gotta go... hope to see you all soon. cheers!

counting down...

2007-12-04T13:44:00.000-06:00

Oh, you wonderful coffee drinkers (and neighbors and friends)... we have not forgotten you. Rather, we are scrambling to bring you an open coffee shop this week!

Yes. Really. The gas and phone were finally connected exactly a month ago, and we gave up on waiting for the building's electrical upgrade. So we've been at a run... overwhelmed with applications and trying to get all our ducks in a row for ya's.

We now have our great new staff (you're gonna love 'em!), and we're doing everything we can to get this baby up and running by the end of the week!

So... no time to dilly-dally, talking about it. It's pedal-to-the-medal, no-sleep-til-Brooklyn, holy-*bleep*-time around here!

Keep an eye on the windows, and hopefully we'll see you on Friday for some delish coffees!

PS- In a cruel twist of fate, the electrical upgrade for the building that we've been waiting on for ten months is apparently also planned to start this week... so disastrous, outside-the-shop, street tearing-up may also be on the menu for our "grand opening" week or two. C'est la vie!

See you soon!

Bonus Points

2007-11-08T17:58:00.000-06:00

Jack-of-all-trades/Renaissance Man (Bloke?) James Hoffman, who just happens to be from my mother (and father) country and ok, who also happens to be the reigning World Barista Champion (ok, and a ridiculously good photographer, and a sweet musician... love the Bonobo remix in partcular BTW, but enough with the over-achieving already!) is pretty darn smart and brags about it on his blog all the time (just kidding!). No, he's really doing a pretty inspirational job pushing the limits of research and critical thinking about two things I find pretty fascinating personally, coffee and food science (/sometimes molecular gastronomy).

Anyway, I'm crazy busy today, so I don't have time to thoroughly read or think through this post of his noodling on extraction versus strength (which just popped up in my reader today), though I'd sure like to.

So, since I'm pretty sure some of you folks who may have been poking around on the newly very popular employment page on our website, may have poked around enough to end up over here at the blog. If so, you're probably on the right track. We're all about curious minds. ~~So I'm not sayin' anything about checkin' out "JimSeven"'s post and summarizing or commenting about it here, I'm just sayin'...~~

(Actually, scrub that.) Just go poke around for fun... this guy's the epitome (and thankfully, you don't have to be this hardcore)!

PS- Sorry about all the asides... I think I may actually have drunk too much coffee today!

PPS- Oh, and shout-outs to Tony and co. at Metropolis today for top spot in the coffee showdown in the Trib today! Yay for good coffee! (You 2, Intelly!)

ta-da... we're hiring!

2007-11-06T13:07:00.000-06:00

Yup, finally.

As of yesterday, we have phone service!!! Boy, have I ever been so happy to hear a dial tone.

And that means that this show is finally on the road (we're actually still on temp power, but "c'est la vie"...we'll work around it!).

So, tell all your coffee (and non-coffee) peeps to send good people our way.

We're super excited to finally be back on track and just want to thank all you supportive folks for being so dang nice along the way.

Wish us luck!

hello all you beautiful patient peoples...

2007-10-25T12:05:00.001-06:00

Unbelievably, (and quite sadly, frankly,) another month is coming to a close without The Coffee Studio being open. Many of you have let us know how much you want us to be open. We're glad to hear it, and let me make it quite clear to the rest of the universe... we really want to be open too!!!

We're doing as much as is in our power to get open, but unfortunately, these utility issues are simply out of our hands. We are now over a year behind our original schedule. At every point however, we've been told that things 'will be happening' within a week or two... it's actually been really quite draining to be in this constant prep mode. If we had known the building construction would take this long, we would have paced ourselves better (and probably gotten a better lawyer). But we're practicalists (is that a word?), and so we're here, doing our best to deal with the situation we're in and trying to stay positive and optimistic.

So now, the good news:

Yes, I have never been so happy to see a construction crew! These fine fellows finally arrived yesterday to dig up the street to repair the broken conduit between the AT&T manhole and our building. Once they're done, AT&T can come back and hook up the building. And then some other AT&T people can come back and hook up The Coffee Studio's space with phone and DSL. Finally. Whew.

In other good news... the gas company was able to complete their hook-up work and tah-dah... we now have gas service (AKA hot water and heat - it's starting to get chilly around here, you know!!!). Yay!!! Utilities!!! I never thought this would be the stuff I worry about all day. Welcome to the glamorous world of business ownership.

In more exciting (and more coffee-related) news, I spent last Friday afternoon "test-training" our first barista hire and he did totally awesome. I hope to start advertising for our full staff soon, and we'll be on our way to putting together a kick-ass barista team, so I'm really excited.

We'll also be brewing up some coffee for the annual Taste of Andersonville dinner dance next week (and donating some schwag to the silent auction), so if you're local and into that sort of thing, make sure to check that out.

Otherwise, just hang in there with us, and we hope to see you all soon!

Cheers,
Lee

An even better birthday present...

2007-10-03T07:53:00.000-06:00

Just in before the (birthday) wire, we seem to have garnered ourselves quite a complimentary post on Gaper'sBlock/Drive-Thru last night.

Thanks, Drive Thru. We love that coffee too! ("yerga-shef-ay")

See you soon!

Sounds kinda fruity! *

2007-10-02T16:27:00.001-06:00

Well, actually, tastes kinda fruity (and floral, and chocolately, and mmm-mmm delicious)!

Last night we had the pleasure of attending a celebration of the Geisha, you know, the Geisha (originally "Gesha" apparently), the $130/lb Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha from Panama that's been on the tips of so many tongues lately (figuratively).

It was wonderful, not just the delicate, balanced flavor in the Clover-ed cup, but the whole story, which may be as fascinating as the coffee itself. After a passionate intro by the always entertaining and informative Geoff Watts (Intelligentsia co-owner and chief coffee buyer), Daniel Peterson, one of the owners of Hacienda La Esmeralda gave a brief glimpse into the path that this Geisha varietal has traveled, from Ethiopia to Central America, to how it is partly responsible for changing long held notions of how coffees from particular regions should taste.

I'm all for anything that asks us to question our assumptions and asks us to think ( or taste) critically, in the moment. I'm also in awe of the scientific but slow processes and explorations that these people are creating, like conducting experiments that won't yield results for four or five years (how long it takes coffee trees to start producing). I am in awe of that kind of patience.

And to cap it off, we got to bring home a half pound each of some of the non-auction lot. Now that's a great birthday present! Thanks, Intelly. Thanks, Hacienda La Esmeralda. You guys are doing great!

* bonus points and maybe a cup of Esmeralda if you get the silly movie reference

What's been missing from all our photos?

2007-09-24T11:59:00.000-06:00

People!

That's right, these fine folks were our first "customers" yesterday during the Andersonville Dessert Crawl. Well, not quite customers, since we're still not officially open for business (and we just gave them the coffee), but they are the first people that we don't know who came into the shop empty handed and left with some coffee and treats! [Thanks for letting us take your pic, friendly folks!]

I am happy to say that yesterday was an overwhelming success, and very exciting indeed. We've been working 'round the clock to get a lot of last minute projects completed (shelves mounted, chalkboards framed, etc.), including perfecting the recipe for our dessert offering, a (Black Cat) espresso mousse that was a big hit ("You have to put this on your menu!").

I don't have an exact customer count, but we probably had between 200 to 250 people come in during the three hour "crawl", with Miguel and myself working the counter, stamping "passports" and serving coffees (a fantastic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and tasty Los Inmortales/El Salvador) and mousse.

The response to our efforts was awesome with enough positive comments about the shop and the treats to go around. We luckily hit no major glitches, and had our first real taste of (hopefully) what's to come.

Thanks again to friends and neighbors who stopped by (and even lent a hand) and for all your good wishes and support!

See you soon!

Sneak Peak at Andersonville Dessert Crawl

2007-09-13T13:30:00.000-06:00

Hi guys!

I just wanted to let some of you know that even though we won't yet be officially open yet, we will be participating in the 2nd Annual Andersonville Dessert Crawl on the afternoon of Sunday, September 23rd, if you're interested in a sneak peak.

Tickets are $20 in advance, and it's a great way to explore the neighborhood.

Maybe we'll see you there!

You were so nice last time...

2007-09-11T08:37:00.001-06:00

So here's another picture:

No more construction dust!!!

2007-09-10T11:50:00.001-06:00

So all the furniture came out of hiding. Yay!

More pics soon!

"When are you opening?"

2007-08-30T13:55:00.000-06:00

We are really excited that there are so many people looking forward to our opening! We've heard from lots of you, and you all want to know the same thing... the grand opening date.

Well, folks, the answer is... we don't know.
*sound of needle loudly slipping off the record*

Yes, as unbelievable as it is, the gut-rehab building that we are in still does not have phone, gas, or the most important of all, the new upgraded electrical service. And, here it comes...

It might be another month!!! [I'm, going to skip the gory details. It's between the building owner and the utilities... but with us caught between.]

I know, I know! Trust me, we want to be open as much as you do (more, I'm sure!).

Our construction is done. We've got some shelves to paint, some slipcovers to finish, that sort of thing, but we're pretty much waiting on the utilities. Of course, we're not sitting around idle. There's plenty to do. We want to hit the ground running as soon as we have the go ahead!

I'll post some pics later (I don't have any new ones on my phone - oops!), but I wanted to let you guys know the skinny.

And I promise, as soon as we know when we'll be open... you'll be the first to know!

See you soon.

she cleans up nice...

2007-08-14T18:23:00.001-06:00

natural materials go in

2007-08-08T08:20:00.000-06:00

morning...

noon...

night...

counters are in...

2007-07-27T17:37:00.001-06:00

(click photos to enlarge)

Did you miss the grand opening?

2007-07-25T05:48:00.001-06:00

Just kidding.

You didn't miss nuthin'. We're not open yet, a week past our target opening date. The date passed by with nary a flutter.

I know... delays happen to everyone (almost), but I thought we were going to be different. Tant pis! In our case, the delay is mainly that we still have not been given permanent power, reliable water, natural gas or basic telephone service. No big deal, right!? So no DSL (for POS system and camera system set up), no fax (for job applications), no water treatment system (um, for water), no refrigeration (milk), no real training (sad, lonely Robur), and no hiring (can't do it until we know for sure when we're going to be able to open, and they won't give us dates!).

We are not litigious people, but our patience is definitely working overtime. It's interesting that when we were looking for locations, we really felt that we were applying for landlord approval, trying to prove our professionalism, financials, experience, plans, etc. (to be accepted as a desirable and responsible tenant), when maybe in fact it should have been more of a reciprocal process. We are still very happy with this location (which we worked very long and hard to get), but the process of getting the space to vanilla shell and completely ready for us has been long and painful, and we we really didn't anticipate it at all.

In any case, we're trying to make use of this extra (waiting) time as best we can. Our construction is mostly done, but our guys slowed down a bit when it became clear that the basic services were not coming right around the corner... the rush was off. But everything is pretty much in (cabinets, floors, lights, furniture, plumbings), except for the counters (installed this week), glass and wood details (next week), exterior bits (soon), and other "small" discreet elements like the shelf/menu system. It's looking pretty nice. We're happy.

We're also still working on and tweaking menu, finalizing product selection and vendors and placing first orders, responding to some interest from potential employees, working out design details, coordinating deliveries, managing the budget and lots of all over the place stuff like that.

Yu-ummm...

moving right along...

2007-06-30T09:08:00.000-06:00

Hello, blog world (and a 'howdy' to any new readers we picked up from the friendly little mention on Gaper's Block/Drive-Thru!),

Things are moving, though visual changes at the space are subtle to see. Lots of little boxes are being checked off of the to do list daily.

Nightly, well this week at least, Miguel and I have been tackling the time-intensive process of installing the recycled rubber floor in the basement, not getting home until around 11pm or so. I'm pretty sore to boot... those rolls of rubber weigh a ton (two pounds per square foot, actually) and are pretty hard to maneuver (and we're still not done!).

We should finally be ready for our temp barista set-up in the basement by the beginning of the week, which means (Yay!) our brand-spanking new, beautiful Synesso Cyncra espresso machine will be moving in next week, ready for us to start playing.

Kitchen equipment (sans coolers) are in, and a good chunk of that stuff is already plumbed in. Electricians have been doing their thing (wires are "pulled" and a lot of fixtures/tracks are now in). HVAC guys pretty much done. Cabinet frames are assembled. Bathroom doors went up yesterday (plus a bunch of other odd carpentry jobs are done). Subfloors are in in the bathrooms. Drywall patching is complete. Painters are back on Monday to finish up their stuff. Furniture is arriving. Things are moving along! (We are still struggling to get some critical things completed by the landlord's guys, but most of it is out of our hands, so I'll skip the gory details.)

Days are filled with check-ups at the space, calls/follow-ups to vendors, fixing hiccups, making purchasing decisions, ordering stuff, monitoring the budget/moving money around (and dealing with heavy SBA paperwork requirements), and handling a gazillion more little things (alarm systems, security cameras, exterior design elements, water filtration system, cups + mugs, cash handling stuff, retail merchandise, etc.). These are multi-tasking days like I've never known them! But it's also fun (if a little 'aughhh!').

Our house is a mess, but at least we're eating our veggies. Overwhelmed with green stuff from our CSA delivery, we managed to cook up a storm this week despite our schedule: two kinds of zuchini bread, banana bread, annise hyssop/chocolate cookies, potato/bok choi soup, orange and thyme baked tofu, ravioli (from the store) with sauteed radish greens and a chilled zuchini and avocado soup. Not bad, eh? Let's hope we can keep it up.

Miguel's also in the process finishing up a chair design for a competition as we speak (and finishing up the last of some zuchini bread with some Intelly microlot direct trade Bolivian coffee, yum!), and I'm preparing for our afternoon out visiting local vendors. For those if you in for a leisurely weekend... enjoy it for us!

More updates soon...

Shop Opening Break - go see a movie about type

2007-06-20T06:41:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post to remind design-minded folks that the Helvetica movie is playing at the Gene Siskel Film Center in the Loop only until tomorrow/Thursday.

I admit it... I'm selfish, didn't mention it until we already had our tickets in hand! (I heard it sold out on Friday.) I've been waiting for it. We're going tonight.

I don't know exactly what the movie is going to focus on, but it's a good reminder that everything you see (or touch, or use...) has been designed by someone. It may have been designed lovingly, or carelessly, but outside of nature, things don't just create themselves. Look around. Look at your chair, home, toothbrush, milkjug, coffeeshop, whatever... even the little letters on your screen. Someone had some intention and did something about it. Design is like the Matrix. Once you see it, you can't go back.

[Picture above of the Gene Siskel Film Center digs and cafe -from their website. It's an awesome theater and urban resource, but I'll pretend I don't see a spoon being used in the construction of those "cappuccinos".]

A month to go...

2007-06-18T05:54:00.000-06:00

A month to go!?!?! Oh boy, is there a lot to do.

And quite a few things have quite a lead time, which means they need to have been done by yesterday already... tricky for a bunch of perfectionists!

Currently working on:
- cup sleeves
- prepaid cards
- website
- hiring preparation
- final menu list/product selection
- menu worksheet/POS
- furniture orders
- final counter construction drawings
- glass casework design and cabinets
- a gazillion little things
- (life)

Of course we're working seven days a week right now... it feels a lot like being back in design school actually. We did manage to take a break last night to make it out to at Ravinia (the Chicago summer concert/picnic-blanket fest ) last night with a bunch of friends to hear Seu Jorge. Awesome! (And only a few Cicada sightings, nothing horror-movie-ish.)

This weekend we actually also got our first box of vegetables from Angelic Organics, the CSA we joined this year. I used to do it when I lived in Detroit. You sign up in advance for a "share" of the harvest and get a box of local, farm-fresh veggies every week. Being this busy preparing to open the shop though, we're really going to have to work to make sure we're eating well and not letting those veggies go to waste (our recent habits outstanding, man cannot live on Raisin Bran alone!). We discovered something we weren't familiar with in our box though... "Garlic Scapes". Pretty cool looking, and delicious in the "Fennel and Garlic Scape Spread" I whipped up yesterday to put in some Ravinia sandwiches. I love learning new things.

Anyway, enough about all that, you probably want pics. The transformation from the last pics is probably not visually immense... but being over there, lots of little things are changing:
- wires pulled (through the conduit)
- brick sealed
- drywall mudded/taped, primed and mostly painted (ignore the yellow.. it's a primer)
- epoxy floors poured behind bar and in kitchen
- kitchen FRP up and drop ceiling in
- basement doors partially in

Ok, just a couple pics:

Unbelievably June

2007-06-05T17:35:00.000-06:00

Well, I have a some more update pics to share, but none are as fun as this one, sent to me by a friendly soon-to-be-neighbor/customer, showing his cutie kiddo in front of the shop. Thanks, Jason!

Jason also asked about our hours, and in fact, some other friendly neighbors have posted comments expressing a desire for us to be open late. We're in the process of determining our exact hours right now, and it's a tricky business indeed. We're working on it! We may actually start with a slightly earlier closing time during the week and then see how demand looks. It's easier to add hours than take them away, but I promise we'll be open to at least 8pm during the week (Sun-Thurs) and probably 10pm on Fridays and Saturday. And trust me, if there's enough (desire and) business, we'll make sure we're there for you guys!

We're getting crazy busy as the weeks are zipping by and the list of things we need to get done keeps growing! In addition to the build-out, we're working on the menu and sourcing, designing marketing elements, working on various ongoing negotiations, and preparing to start the advertising/hiring/training process.

Build-out is going great, except that we still don't have power, water or gas, but eh... who need that stuff. We're super pleased with our guys... great attention to detail, good sense of humor, strong. They graciously carried over a thousand pounds of recycled rubber flooring down to the basement today. I gave them cookies. Fair deal? I'm not sure. They were really good cookies though.

In any case, here's some pics:

The update you deserve

2007-05-25T13:59:00.000-06:00

So... what's been going on these busy weeks?

The blog now matches a little better to our new temp website.

The space at the shop is not yet entirely secure, so we've been getting deliveries at the house for now. This is killing me though... poppa grinder (i.e. Mr. 3-phase Robur) and baby grinders (Super-Jollys for decaf and single-origin/guest 'spros) are just sitting here in our dining room all boxed up.

We did have to open the Robur box to drool a little, I admit it.

Some of our pendant lights got here too.

Here's a sneak peek.

(See our cute little coffee tree on the table courtesy of Jay at Intelly?)

In other local news, Andersonville is applying to become a National Historic District, particularly due to its Swedish heritage. That's kind of neat. We went to a meeting about it the other day and picked up some cocktail party-useful historical factoids of the 'hood.

The retail space next to ours is still for rent, and so we sometimes brainstorm about what we think should go there (or in some of the other now or soon-to-be available local spaces). One of my recent ideas was that a Homemade Pizza Co. would be a good fit, and would fill a needs gap in the neighborhood. Lo and behold, I just found out there is actually one going in... but down closer to the "middle" of the strip, not right by us. That's kind of a bummer, cause we could use the destination-ness of it by our shop, but it's still in the neighborhood, so we'll probably partake of some. More importantly, props to me for learning how to think about neighborhood demographics and retail/restaurant viability. Of course, they've gone from just a couple shops to a whole bunch more pretty fast, so maybe it's inevitable they'd end up here. In any case, if you know of any coolio shops looking for a space in a dope hood... send 'em our way!

What else? Lots of "small" or technical things, like checking dimensions on all the equipment and laying it out in the space, or dropping paperwork off at the Alderman's office, or juggling funds from account to account to make sure the money's where it's needed, or picking up rapid set cement at Home Depot to patch the basement floor, or going to the National Restaurant Show and dealing with vendors... stuff like that. Also mediating between parties, trying to keep everything running smoothly... that's no small job.

Ok, now the good stuff... we've passed both rough electrical and rough plumbing inspections:

That means we're on to drywall. Woo-hoo...

Yeah... That's what we're talkin' about!

Gettin' philosophical on yo' BLEEP!

2007-05-25T10:06:00.000-06:00

Ok, ok... I'm sorry about the lack of posts. I can't believe it's been two weeks. These weeks are flying by in flashes, and here I am once again saying, "I can't believe it's Friday already!" I'm not complaining... it means I'm engaged, busy, occupied. I remember way back when, in a former life, sitting in a cube, watching the clock tick by, knowing that life is too short to want the clock to speed up, but praying for 5 o'clock anyway. That's how I knew cube life was not for me. And is probably one of the many reasons that we're here, along this path, now. That, and Montessori school. Even by five years old my "report cards" were stressing my independent streak... I've never been a big fan of "the man".

Miguel grew up with small business-owning parents, so the idea of us opening this shop might not have been so totally "out there" for him, especially since he had already been working independently in the design business for years. But I grew up taught that "the path" was to go get a good, secure, professional "job" (meaning career). Which, despite my independent streak, I ended up doing, though I did try to do it my own way... trying to figure out how to change the system from within. But ultimately, the cube thing might have killed it for me (or maybe it was the khakis?). Of course I probably wouldn't have lasted as long as I did if I hadn't felt like I was making a difference, affecting sustainability policy. And the travel was nice too. But I digress. Point is... big lifestyle changes for us. Big.

So now we're creating our own "path"... one where we can be present, and not mentally trying to speed up the clock so we can be somewhere else. Designing our lives, so to speak.

In any case, we are definitely marching towards our opening date... now hovering somewhere within the month of July. Lots still to do.

More updates with pics later today. Promise!

official public announcement

2007-05-10T08:58:00.000-06:00

Becoming real-er!

2007-05-08T07:45:00.000-06:00

Basement storage room and office, before + after 'painting weekend':

Unlike plumbing and electrical, painting is something we can do to save money. We decided to use low/no VOC paints (for health and environmental reasons), which we've never used before but discovered some new things about them. For instance, while we were easily able to find low or no VOC paints locally, no one had anything that could handle tinting to medium or dark colors. It seems if you want to stay "pure", you're almost stuck at pastels. Apparently the colors themselves are what carry a lot of the volatile compounds. The whites were easy, but for our color, we ended up going a bit lighter than we would have otherwise. So I hope they're working on making more color options available, cause we love our dark colors (and our health)!

In other news, construction is moving along, we're sorting through more bank business, updating the budgets, trying to get the owner's guys to finish their work, confirming equipment specs, finally picked up our plans from the city ("No, I didn't get them... you mean you didn't get them? Did anyone get them? Oops."), and have been generally running around like headless chickens (minus the grossness).

In more visual news, the bar wall is going up. It'll be taller than this, but it's still pretty low... we're anxious to see how the vision will come together. And as stuff is going up in the space for real, we're also seeing that there are a few things look like they might need some adjustment. Areas that looked huge on the drawings are feeling a bit tight and vice versa, but overall...

This is so cool!

And I don't know if I dare say it out loud, but at this point, my fine peeps, we are probably looking at 9-10 weeks until opening. Whoa.

wait, wait, run... wait!

2007-05-02T13:32:00.000-06:00

Hey there! Despite our bumping into a bunch of bureaucratic hoop-jumping this week because of the build-out budget woes, there's still lots of progress is in the works... lots of decisions getting made... lots of stuff going in/on!

See anything new?

(There go your high ceilings, Steve. Sorry!)

It's all very exciting!

Oh, and all you volunteers out there, put on your scruffs... we're painting the basement this weekend!

and one more thing...

2007-04-24T17:30:00.000-06:00

I also meant to mention that a new law is pending that raises the postage rates for small, independent publishers to send out their magazines, but keeps it the same for biggie companies. That's not fair. So if you're into that sort of thing (come on, you know you are!), maybe add your name to the dissenters here?

Thanks to Sarah from Barista Magazine for the heads up!

updateroo

2007-04-24T16:23:00.000-06:00

Well you've got to know how exciting this is:

Yes kids, it's our very own dumpster. It even has our name on it. We're so proud.

In other (actually very exciting) news, we got our approved set of plans back from the Health Department, so that's one less (big) thing to worry about. I'll save you the long story about all the bureaucratic goof-ups that caused all the delays. It's done, and that's what matters! So with our building permit already in the other hand, we're really ready to go. As soon as they get the electrical panel in that is, which could happen sometime, if the stars ever align and we all cross our fingers and throw in a penny.

All the main HVAC ducts are in, and so is the bathroom pipe venting, so stuff is definitely happening. Here's the worst picture ever taken (of our new trunk ducts), for people who can see in the dark.

We also put together a little teaser ad for the "First Annual Andersonville Wine Crawl" passport guidebook thing. It doesn't have a very wide distribution, but we thought it was a nice opportunity to reach a local, foodie/gourmet crowd and have a little fun. The Wine Crawl is on May 6th. Want a sneak peek?

OK... but don't tell anyone:

time to squeeze water from stone

2007-04-17T09:26:00.000-06:00

This process is not for the faint of heart. Really.

Our more complete construction bids are finally in, and 'whoah'. I mean really, take a deep breath, "whoah". Let's just say that some of our key construction categories are double (or more than) our initial estimates. And they weren't small numbers to begin with.

There are a lot of reasons why the numbers are so high, some of which I can grasp how they've incrementally ballooned (i.e. incremental changes to the structure of our lease contract affecting what we're responsible for, versus the landlord), some things which are completely out of our control (additional code requirements, cost of materials like copper and steel, etc.), and some stuff, that if we're honest, had just never made it onto our radar for whatever reason.

But the end result is that we have to get the numbers down; there's only so much money. There's no point in spending every single dollar that we have just to get open, if it leaves us with not enough money to pay for rent, staff, ingredients and the other plethora of operational expenses that will be due before we have enough sales to cover them, so that we end up closed within a couple of months of opening. They do say that's the number one (or two) reason businesses fail.

So now, we get into the unpleasant line-item process of figuring out what is absolutely required, and what isn't, e.g. where we will have to make the compromises. No one likes to compromise.

Facing these decisions does have an effect of forcing us to re-focus. It forces us to figure out where we won't compromise - we know that for us, the absolute highest potential for the quality of our coffees has to be the priority. But that's still tough on the constitution when you're trying to squeeze out every dollar you can from the budget and, for example, the difference between a sufficient main espresso grinder and a grinder that gives us the potential to really bring out the subtlest and sweetest flavors in our espressos might be $1700. That's just the difference, the premium for a grinder that enables us to make our coffee just a little bit better than it would be with the other grinder.

And we're making the same sort of choices for our 'brewed coffee' grinder, our "second" (+ "third") espresso grinder, our (Ferrari of an) espresso machine. These premiums all add up. But we're making these decisions because we're not trying to open a Starbucks-quality convenience store, or just a cute, community gathering spot where the coffee's "okay"... that's not our plan, or our desire.

And once we're open, we're going to continue making these types of choices, paying a premium for the best-sourced, freshly-roasted coffees, organic milks and better, more expensive ingredients. Why? I guess because ultimately we trust and believe that if we offer the most delicious product possible, that people will respond... no matter how much we end up having to compromise on the "awesome" bar design, the "ideal" floor construction, or how many midnight hours we end up having to spend painting the 11 ft. ceiling ourselves.

It actually really blows my mind that with all the fixed construction start-up costs for this type of build-out that aren't optional, that anyone manages to open a new business at all. My respect for folks that do manage it grows every single day. So go on, go on in to your favorite shops, bars and restaurants, say 'hi' and give them some business!

PS- Donations now being accepted.

Oh yes, my friends, we have actual rooms!

2007-04-03T14:32:00.000-06:00

Well, they have indeed been very busy bees over in our soon-to-be coffee shop. The basement ceiling is all drywalled up and they've framed in the storage room/office walls down there too.

They are also, as we speak, drywalling over the new framing for the kitchen and bathrooms in our main space and installing our back door as seen here.

It's all very exciting! Delivery to us next week?

on-site, off-site, off the grid... ok, not really.

2007-03-28T19:19:00.000-06:00

I've noticed an upswing in the number of our blog readers lately (despite our less than frequent posting rate... oops!), so I just wanted to say, 'Welcome!' and I hope we'll have some more good updates to share soon (and pics to post) as the pace of developments is starting to speed up! A particular shout out to some local folks too, who hopefully will start to see the progress outside of their windows, and not just on the blog! Cheers, guys!

With the warm up in the weather (and some heightened nagging on our part), the construction pace has finally picked up and the retail space is on its way to being turned over to us (so we can start our own construction!). My hope/guess is to have turn-over within two weeks! The ceiling finally got its two layers of drywall (to make it fire-rated, since there are apartments above), which really makes a HUGE difference. We had to make some minor adjustments to the bathroom layouts due to discoveries of obstructions on the site which when combined with ADA requirements turned into a bit of a mess, but we got it resolved eventually. It's amazing how many complicated and confusing all this stuff can get!

Meanwhile, our design for the exterior of the store is starting to gel, as are the graphics and brand identity (no pics yet, you curious peeps!).

We've also had some fun shop-related outings recently...

We stopped by our intrepid roaster buddies for a cupping of (almost) all Nicaraguan coffees from neighboring farm plots which was pretty interesting... all the coffees coming from the same geographic area, but with different microclimates, tending and processing!

Some of the aromas and flavors were really surprisingly varied. Of course, I can't pretend that I had marked all the nuances of the flavors that our roaster hosts were describing, but there's just so much sensory information to sort through and make sense of. It seems like a strange/wonderful game of comparisons... like, the more varied one's gustatory/sensory explorations have been (of both coffee and the rest of the world of flavors), the fuller their toolbox of descriptors maybe. It makes me want to smell and taste more!

I actually find it pretty intimidating cupping with these guys... they're like the Olympians of tasters... they work out their palates everyday and know so much about coffees that it's hard not to be overwhelmed. But on the other hand, it's also pretty inspiring... who better to learn from than these folks who are so super passionate about coffees! The more we've learned, the more we've learned how much more there is to learn... but what a wonderful journey to embark on, and we're super excited to translate our own journey for our future customers too, to open up this world for them also. This is gonna be fun!

We also met with a recommended equipment supplier down on restaurant supply row to go over our equipment list, not too far from the Intelly roasting 'Works' actually, and then got some delish sandwiches across the street. Yum!

The next day was actually the FamilyFarmed.org Expo down at the Cultural Center, where I talked to some farmers and distributors about finding local/organic milk and ingredient suppliers. More yum!

And then I've been working on spec'ing stuff for the build out too, including an unbelievable number of hours trying to figure out the lights. It's pretty important to us to be as material and energy-efficient as possible in the design and construction of the shop, but the information systems are really not out there to make it easy. There are lots of sources with little pieces of the puzzle, but at our scale, it's taking a lot of extra time and energy. Oh, and if anybody needs a varied bunch of barely used warm colored, dimmable, compact florescent reflector bulbs, we're starting a collection over here after we test them all out! Not what you need? Then maybe check out this coolio Light Bulb Search from Environmental Defense.

Check back soon!

Celebrate the wins!!!

2007-03-15T09:29:00.000-06:00

We have a new drain pipe.

Ok, that may not be exciting to you, but it means work is actually getting done! Woo-hoo!

Short on posts...

2007-03-09T11:10:00.000-06:00

... short on progress.

Well, not really, but definitely short on 'post-able'/tangible progress. Unfortunately, due to a number of factors beyond our control, our space still is not ready to be turned over to us, and won't be ready for at least a few weeks still. This will push back (forward?) our opening date, sadly.

In the meantime we do have a bunch going on... we've ordered our espresso machine (yay!) which we are totally excited about, and some chairs too(for which I've been sewing some cushion prototypes). We're also working on spec'ing out all kinds of stuff and getting tighter quotes on equipment and construction. It's tax time too, so I'm also working on a lot of accounting stuff, both for the coffee shop and the design business and still researching lots of logistical stuff.

We've also got a lot of design work coming in right now too, so Miguel's been pulling a lot of late nights/weekends working (not to mention getting stuck all day in upstate New York in the midst of an air traffic fiasco the other day). Dante (le gros chat noir) also got quite scary-sick a couple of weeks ago, and after quite a bit of nurturing (and 'procedures' and medications) he definitely seems on the mend, which is quite a relief. But there's certainly been no lack of excitement around here, even if it seems we're quiet. Hopefully we'll have lots to report on (and photograph) soon!

coffee stuff, coffee peeps, coffee coffee coffee...

2007-02-23T06:22:00.000-06:00

CoffeeFest is here! No, I mean literally.

In October of 2005 (near the wee beginning of our journey to opening the shop), Miguel and I packed up our bags and flew to Seattle for CoffeeFest (a Specialty Coffee trade show) for the seminars and show floor (and to scope out the Seattle scene and shops). And now it's come to us... the next three days we'll be hanging out at Navy Pier meeting people, learning stuff, watching stuff and volunteering at stuff (Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition).

It looks to be a busy couple of days... Onward ho!

Look ma, we're on Fox...

2007-02-12T12:07:00.000-06:00

Yay... we got our construction permit! Of course, it didn't all go with out snags, but our architect did a great job coordinating all last minute changes and hiccups, working with the city to get it through. However (there's always a "however" it's starting to seem), the space hasn't been turned over to us by the landlord yet, so we still can't begin our work and we're waiting on an update of their schedule and when they think they'll be done they're work. Still, not slowing down, we'll be sending out all the plans for bids this week.

In the meantime, my mum came for a visit this week from Philly which was great as I hadn't seen her in ages (over a year). We mostly puttered around the house while she was here, making just a few jaunts out into the chilly world... to Hopleaf for mussels on Thursday and to the MCA on Saturday for a performance of Chekhov's play, Uncle Vanya, which was pretty interesting. The set design was unusual, very modern, clean and architectural (I believe it was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merill). She also brought out some of her home-made baked goods for us (banana bread and whisky cake) plus a couple jars of her Lemon Curd and Gooseberry Jam, and some other British snacks I loved growing up like Jaffa Cakes and chocolate Smarties. So, basically, it's time to start going back to the gym to work it all off.

Speaking of eating (too much), about a month ago we went to a Ghetto Gourmet ("underground") dinner which was a total blast. It was in a loft almost exactly like where Miguel (and some friends) used to live in Wicker Park, just a block up Milwaukee Ave. Unfortunately, other than us, none of our friends were able to get tickets before it sold out. The food was delicious and the whole experience... entertainment, atmosphere and opportunity to chat with other "guests" really made for an fantastic evening. This video on their site really gives you a sense of what they're up to.

Actually, the day we went to the Ghetto Gourmet we had been hanging out with a friend of ours who was telling us about this totally awesome human beatboxer he had seen the night before at the Hothouse (and who was connected to some mutual friends of ours from grad school). It so happens, the guy sitting next to us at the Ghetto Gourmet dinner was that guy. His name's Yuri Lane and it turned out he was one of the two performers during dinner. Totally worth checking out... absolutely everything you hear is really coming from this guy's mouth!?!

Anyway, Fox News Chicago was there filming a little and it looks like the segment aired recently. It isn't as good as the video that I mentioned above (it is Fox News) but we're actually in the Fox segment here and there (we're sitting all the way at the left and then about halfway through you get a glimpse of me chatting with Yuri and then there's a quick clip of Miguel being interviewed). Anyway, if 'The Ghet' comes to your neighborhood... just go.

Lastly, we want to give a shout out to Steve for the mention on his coffee blog (we've never met, but I love his great flickr photos)! Great things are happening in the Chicago coffee scene...

Baby, it's REALLY cold outside...

2007-02-05T11:49:00.000-06:00

There's no snow, but it's currently -1 degree Farhenheit outside (up from -9 degrees earlier this morning) with a wind chill (feels like) factor of less than -30 degrees. They've put out a "wind chill warning" which means that you can get frostbite, hypothermia or die (!) within 10 minutes of being outside. That's worse than the "wind chill advisory" we had yesterday (which lets you stay out there for up to 30 minutes with out losing fingers and toes). So as you can imagine, we're staying inside as much as possible. And unfortunately, last night's SuperBowl results aren't warming up anybody around these parts either.

On the building front, our permit "Intake Meeting" is this morning, which means that if we don't hit any major snags, we could theoretically get our construction permit very soon (cross yo' fingers!). However, the owner's guys haven't yet finished their part of the work before turning over the space to us. The lack of heat over there and the frigid temps are keeping the plumber (and others) away it seems. So we'll just have to see how this all affects our timing. For our part, we'll be getting bids on the project and finalizing al the construction plans so that as soon as they turn over the space to us, we can get crackin'.

On Friday afternoon we had an espresso tasting session with our friends over at Intelligentsia (Fulton St/Roasting Works). It was awesome. We had a chance to taste variations in shots due to changing variables (grind and tamp pressure) and blends. Sarah and Jay also dissected some shots of Black Cat into five parts for us (which I've always wanted to do but have never gotten around to) so we could really taste the differences between the extraction flavors at the beginning, middle and ends of the shot. I'm hoping this will help us troubleshoot our shots better to create better balance. We also tasted some single origin shots, including a really pleasantly surprising Yirgacheffe. We also snagged their new Direct Trade calendar which is dope (and available here)!

How did we get here? Nov/Dec '06

2007-02-01T08:24:00.000-06:00

[For those of you just tuning in, this post is a part of the 'How did we get here?' flashback series which started here]

Obviously, a lot has been riding on that location, including all of the time and money we've spent refining the designs, not to mention that our loan package is contingent on that location. We try to determine if any of the deal is salvageable, but the feedback we get is that it's pretty unlikely. We make some gestures nonetheless, but effectively, we go back to the drawing board, pulling out all the old maps and learning about available locations on the market now (since we haven't been looking since May).

By this time, we've really been developing the business around being in the Andersonville neighborhood, but since there are no other viable, available locations for us there, we reluctantly start looking again in other neighborhoods. A few places seem to have some potential, and after a couple walk-throughs we begin design explorations and financial projections for two alternatives. Eventually we then narrow it down to one (not shown). Though we think this new location has a lot of potential, the nature of the area is quite different, and we realize that the concept itself will need some pretty big adjustments.

Though we don't really know what to expect, just before Thanksgiving we finally get a face-to-face meeting with the owner of "our" original location, whom we haven't actually ever met. The meeting goes very well, and we learn that there had been a lot of miscommunication and misunderstandings on both sides. The condition of the space and terms of the agreement would apparently have to be different, but we cautiously agree to explore whether we can make it work and whether we can come to an agreement. Both sides are anxious to figure it out ASAP.

The allotment, layout and condition of the space is now significantly different than before, and includes less space in the rear area (kitchen), but much more in the basement (storage). We work with the architect to make sure we can still fit the bathrooms and the very minimum space we require in the kitchen area. The numbers have shifted around as well, so we adjust our calculations and discuss what all the changes mean to us. There are some technical issues as well, relating to the mechanical and electrical issues, but we work quickly and directly with the owner and his contractor to come to an agreement, which we somehow manage to reach within two weeks. It's a different deal, but it's a deal.

Meanwhile, our awesome banker has somehow managed to sustain our loan offer (though it was supposed to have lapsed by now). Finally, after even more emotionally draining confusion ("we sent the lease, but DHL says it's missing..."), we finally get a copy of the signed lease on Boxing Day 2006 (the day after x-mas), and head straight to the bank to close on the loan!

*phew!*

And that's where this (real-time) blog first picked up...

How did we get here? Sept/Oct '06

2007-01-31T08:02:00.000-06:00

The SBA has approved our loan package (it's an SBA backed loan, which means that the bank makes the actual loan but the Small Business Administration guarantees it to the bank, kind of like a co-signer)! Though we had been somewhat assured that if our bank had approved it, the SBA probably would to, after our experiences so far, we have learned to be pretty cautious (or as we've come to say, 'cautiously optimistic'). There's still a bunch of forms to put together and sign, and we can't close until we have the actual signed lease, but this is a huge relief and a great step forward. I start working on all the bank requirements, like getting business insurance and documenting all of what we've spent so far.

While we're still waiting on getting the actual lease to sign, we work on the revising and solidifying our budget estimates. We get bids from a few architects. We visit flooring showrooms. We refine the design. We start talking to the health department.

We've lined up a real estate lawyer to review the lease for us, but we still haven't received it. We're starting to get a little antsy (is there a problem?), but the news comes back that there was just a mix-up and we'll get it soon.

Meanwhile, we get some disappointing news that a partnership we've been working on and that we've been really excited about has fallen apart on the other end, reminding us that even companies with good reputations can sometimes let you down. Deals are definitely not done until they're done.

At the beginning of October we finally get the lease and despite it's length, we have only what we see as a few minor concerns with it (with some things that seem inconsistent to us). We work on it with our lawyer, who communicates our desired changes and we wait for the response.

We continue working on finalizing the design. I also head downtown once a week for three one-day classes to be certified as a Food Service Sanitation Manager (ServSafe). We figure getting this out of the way now is probably easier than while were racing to complete the build-out and getting ready to open.

Then, without warning, at the very end of October, we receive a curt message through the lawyers... the offer to rent us the location is withdrawn. We've lost our location.

Really.

We don't know why, and can't get any answers. Everyone tells us to forget about it, 'let it go'. They try to cheer us up by reminding us that it's probably for the best. Maybe. But it sure doesn't feel like it right now.

Next up, starting over...

How did we get here? July/Aug '06

2007-01-30T10:03:00.000-06:00

Could you guess what was coming?

Yes, we get back from our weekend away to find out that despite every indication from the people we've been working with, the bank has turned down our loan. Why? The underwriters don't like the industry (they will not recognize specialty coffee retailing as different than "restaurants") and don't like that we're independent (not a franchise). Obviously there's nothing we can do about either of those. They also would like to see more collateral, but the first two reasons are the big ones. Our banking team says they're just as surprised as we are. Unfortunately, it's little consolation.

It seems that we are now in the situation of having a (pretty firm) location, but no financing. We take a deep breath and set up some meetings with new bankers and make some adjustments to the plan based on what we've learned, hoping that this delay won't cause us to lose the location. We forge ahead and as soon as possible, we submit a new loan application to a different bank (actually represented by the first banker I had spoken with at all during this whole process, whom I had met the previous Fall at one of the SCORE workshops where she gave a really informative presentation on banks and financing).

Meanwhile, the graphic designer we had previously met with recommends a colleague and we begin working with the two of them on the brand identity process, meeting up over coffee after work every couple of weeks for reviews. We also forge ahead with the layout and design of the space, which is an intensive process of exploration and revision using a variety of tools including sketching, paper cutouts, Adobe Illustrator, Google SketchUp (image at left... SketchUp totally rocks!) and even ProE, while working back and forth with the cafe layout consultant.

Early in August we get the great news that the loan has been approved by the new bank (Yay?), but... the package still needs to be separately approved by the SBA, so we start preparing for that process.

We meet with a couple architects and become alerted to some potential code and zoning issues with this particular location and have a flurry of back and forth communications between different representatives and agents until it is determined that there really is no problem after all! Finally, after much back and forth we reach mutual agreement on all the terms for the LOI/lease which is then signed by both parties in late August (phew!). Now we just wait for the lawyers to write up the legalese and the location is set. We're back on track, with lots of work to do!

Next up, counting the months 'til we open...

How did we get here? May/June '05

2007-01-29T08:29:00.000-06:00

By the end of April, we've been seriously looking for locations for a couple of months and though there have been a few hopefuls that we've gotten excited about, in the end nothing meets all of our criteria and we go back to the drawing board.

On my way home one day at the end of April, I pass a corner location in our neighborhood that's been vacant for a while. It's in the north end of the neighborhood about four or five blocks up from the more central pedestrian area, though it's an area with a couple great businesses and a lot of potential. We'd been under the impression that our own neighborhood, although we adore it, would not be able to provide the kind of morning sales volume that we would need to build a strong business, as the closest 'el' (train) stop is a good 8-10 minute walk. We'd always assumed we'd need to be by the el. Rather than shrug it off though, we start to do more research along the same lines we've been doing in other areas and we're happily surprised by what we discover. So while we keep looking elsewhere, we check out the interior of space.

It needs A LOT of work, and we're still not sure. We continue looking for other locations but start trying to figure out if, and how, we could make this neighborhood location work... what walls are structural (we get a structural engineer in), how much space can we get (we get feedback from the owner's agent), what kind of rent could we afford to pay for this location (we crunch the numbers)...

Within the next month, we decide to go for it and by early June we've put together our Letter of Intent (LOI) for the landlord communication the terms of our offer. The feedback is pretty good. We (through our agent) begin negotiating with the landlord's agent to determine the agreed terms for the "final" LOI that will be the basis for the lease.

We find out that we're also going to need an architect to help us get our building permits (Add that to the budget!) and set up some meetings. We update the business plan with the tentative location and make the formal application to the bank for the loan. Things are moving! We continue working on the development of the interior layout and take care of a ton of little things, like learning about City Sidewalk Cafe Applications and applying for life insurance (a requirement for the loan from the bank)!

At the end of June I go in to meet with the the team from the bank, and this time the underwriter too. The meeting goes really well... he says they'll have an answer for us within a few days and it looks pretty good and here's what will happen next, what they're going to need from us, when we'll be able to close, etc. (YAY!!!!!) We breathe a big sigh of relief and go away for a long weekend (picture at left from a bike ride in north-central Illinois).

Next up, rollercoasters...

How did we get here? Mar/Apr '05

2007-01-26T08:08:00.000-06:00

So we start the official location search. We spread a wide net, trying to figure out which neighborhoods make the most sense for us. We've got seemingly millions of criteria for the right location... principles and guidelines we've gleaned from all these information sources: rent should be less than 8-10% of sales, a .5%-1% traffic count capture rate is a good calculation start, space should be on the commute side, easy parking and easy in/out accesss is super important, visiblity is a big deal, it's worth it to pay more for a location with a higher volume potential, don't get a spcae that's too big (or too small), etc, etc. Then, we have our own additional criteria.... pedestrian neighborhood, proximity to public transport, demographic fit to appreciate our high-quality offering, independent-minded community, opportunity for outdoor seating, rent range, lease length, terms, etc.

This is a process of scouring the internet, working with our agent, visiting tons of locations, and when they look promising, sitting in the car or in a local establishment counting cars and walkers and where they are and when they are and what direction they're going, what coffee they're getting, etc., making notes, sketches, calculations. Sometimes something will start to look promising, but eventually, nothing stands up to the criteria (in terms of rents, I don't know what kool-aid some of these property owners have been drinking), and we keep looking... driving around, talking to people, searching, searching...

Meanwhile, we start talking with a cafe layout consultant for some advice. We know we want to do most of the design ourselves, but we decide that it will be helpful to have someone who can help us understand the process and collaborate with us when we're ready. We also debate whether we should design the brand identity on our own or look for a collaborator. After searching the portfolios on the AIGA website, we contact a talented young graphic designer and begin a conversation about working together on the project.

We also meet with a lawyer and discuss our options in terms of business organization types. We move ahead as an LLC, and register the business and do all that legal stuff. We now have to file Sales tax ($0.00) and soft drink tax ($0.00) forms every single month (despite not even being actually open yet).

Miguel is busy with client work (including a couple trips to Europe), so I head to Charlotte, NC, on my own at the beginning of April for the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America)'s annual conference. I take more advanced classes on cupping and barista skills.

The US Barista Competition is being held on the show floor (pic of Jay Caragay competing to the tune of Miami Sound machine at left), so it's easy to stop over to watch (and be impressed) in between rounds of walking the show floor. It's a major trade-show with a lot of people there, including a lot of folks I'm used to seeing on the different coffee forums. Outside of contact with vendors though, I suppose I'm a bit shy and mostly keep to myself. For years I've been a part of the design community and am pretty comfortable in that context, so it's interesting to be jumping in fresh to what is, in effect, a "new" community. While it's fairly "easy" to join such a new community online, this experience is sort of a reminder that, in person, well, it's not quite the same! In any case, it's a productive couple of days and I head back to Chicago just in time for a slew of varyingly relevant local trade shows.

Within the next two weeks, I head to the Fancy Food Show (delicious samples!), the Retail Interiors Expo ("um, no, we're just ONE store right now"), and then the NRA show (not that NRA, the the National Restaurant Association). It's a huge show... on day two, Miguel comes along and, among other things (tasting, tasting...), we have a "free design consultation" with some architects from the firm that designed Tank Sushi in Lincoln Square (which we love, both for its sushi and its design). Most valuably, they recommend the general contractor (GC) of that job, who's also built other coolio stuff in the city (and whom we eventually end up hiring!).

Next up, "Could this be the location for us?"...

How did we get here? Dec '05/Jan-Feb '06

2007-01-25T09:35:00.000-06:00

Starting the business plan was a bit daunting. All the internet research and forum scouring and book reading in the world won't tell you how to do it in a way that makes sense for you. But one of the best pieces of advice we heard came from Kent Holloway of Fox Hollow Coffee who gave a great presentation at CoffeeFest. He recommended starting the (business plan development) process by writing a letter, like to a friend, telling them all about what you're going to do. I think it's really a brilliant idea as it takes a lot of the pressure of formality and format off the task and allows you to just get something down.

So I start that way and it isn't long before I just start copy/pasting the text into an outline format where I can just create placeholders for information that we would need to fill in later. Then I can see what needs to be thought through or researched more or just decided, in order to get the plan done. My graduate work in planning definitely comes in useful at this point, in terms of developing the framework for the plan and even putting it together in an effective format. I start putting together the financial projections and meet with our accountant to learn more about income and cash flow statements, balance sheets, etc., and of course I'm still reading anything I can get my eyes on.

While examples are super helpful, they're extremely hard to find. For those that are interested, here is a glimpse of an early outline I created for the business plan (click to enlarge). The black text represents content I had already drafted at that point and the grey represents that which I still needed to work on.

This, on the other hand, is a glimpse of the "final" outline that we developed for the business plan. I'm not too worried about whether it matches any particular "template", but rather that it covers all the areas we felt that we (and any others who would need to review the plan) would need to understand to make decisions. [Of course, this is the format and order that made sense for us to figure out and tell "our" story and isn't a good model for anyone else probably, but I always like seeing how other people think and work.]

So the first draft plan is coming together pretty well by the end of January, beginning of February. We have a much better sense of how much the endeavor is going to cost, and how much we'll need to borrow, but we don't have a very good sense of whether any banks (and SBA) are going to want to work with us, so before we start our more serious location search (we've been informally looking around for moths already) we need to know if we're wasting our time. So I contact some banks and set up preliminary meetings to discuss our plans in February. The feedback is great... very encouraging indeed. We seem a good fit with one of the banks in particular and based on their feedback, in early/mid March we meet with and engage our real estate agent.

Meanwhile, just before x-mas we upgrade the kitchen gear, we retire the espresso machine and the Pro-Line grinder and finally get ourselves a Rancilio Sylvia and Rocky (pictured). A new tamper, some basket adjustments and a new bottomless portafilter get us on the road to making better espresso (and better latte art) for the new year. Our friends start to mock our set-up.

In January, I volunteer at the Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition here in Chicago. I end up as a Scorekeeper, sequestered in a kitchen (the competition was hosted at a cooking school) tabulating the Judge's score sheets (technical.pdf + sensory.pdf). Though I miss seeing a lot of the baristas compete while I work, I get to read the judges comments and learn about the judging criteria.

We also move away from the MuJo [Coffee + Milk Bar] name. We really want to emphasize the craft... and the attention to detail, leveraging our design background. Within a few weeks and a few variations, we've got it: The Coffee Studio.

Next up, location scouting (and trade-show burnout)...

How did we get here? Oct./Nov./Dec. '05

2007-01-24T08:10:00.001-06:00

The experts on financing say that banks laugh at money-seekers who have no industry experience... the fact that you like going to restaurants a lot is not enough to convince them to give you big chunks of change to open your own.

So I apply for a "barista" job at a new chain shop and quit after 30 minutes of the training day when I learn that it's actually a sandwich shop with a vending style coffee machine with a big button that gets pushed by the "barista" (read: cashier). I feel bad about going to an indie when I don't really intend to stay that long, so I go ahead and manage to get a job at a real coffee chain (ok, THE coffee chain). We worry about having to sign the promised non-compete and waffle a bit about the whole thing... is it worth it... what are we really going to learn? We decide to go for it (in the end I was never actually given the non-compete). In retrospect, it was going to be a long while before we were going to get open, so the non-compete was probably a moot point, but we didn't yet know how long it was really going to take to get open.

I work there part-time for about three months. Meet some really nice people, listen to coffee-seminar MP3s on the bus trips, earn some cash to pay some of our research expenses. Worth it? Absolutely. I learn a ton about operations, equipment, processes, etc. I also learn how not to do a lot of things (and where the chain struggles, IMO). Now, can't imagine not having done it (and the banks we're very happy to see it too).

At the end of October we head to CoffeeFest, a big specialty coffee industry trade-show in Seattle. We walk the show floor, talking, tasting, comparing, go to seminars on every possible subject and participate in cupping workshops.

We visit renowned and coolio shops, taste lots of espressos, and still somehow end up gorging ourselves on yummy crepes outside the convention center. We also visit (scenic) tourist traps, check out our first barista competition (the Northwest Regional- AWESOME!) and head home.

Right after we get back, we go to our first "Barista Jam" at Intelligentsia where we meet some really nice people, learn about coffee origins, pull (espresso) shots with other baristas (including Phuong Tran, the reigning US Barista Champion at the time), get a tour of Intelly's Roasting Works and cup even more coffees. Our heads are ready to explode.

Next up, putting all the research to use...

How did we get here? (Sept. '05 - first in a series)

2007-01-23T13:18:00.000-06:00

On a lot of the online forums dedicated to the coffee business, you see tons of first time posts of people asking, "How long does it take to open a shop?". The answer is usually a frustrating (and accurate), "Depends". (The same goes for, "How much does it cost?"). Everyone's story is different. Here's ours:

Once upon a time/September 2005: A particularly unhappy commuting experience leads to a long conversation about how we really want to live, now and in the future. We become more serious about starting the new business, finally realizing that it doesn't have to be all or nothing... Miguel will continue the design business and provide current income; I will spearhead the new coffee business. Can we really make enough to live? We think we can.

I start the serious research. I'd already recently gone (for kicks?) to a panel discussion on starting a restaurant at the WBDC. I start going into the loop (Chicago's "downtown") to a weekly series of SCORE workshops on starting a business and spend the afternoons looking stuff up at the coolio looking library. I also buy some sweet books on restaurant and bar interior design at the Prairie Avenue Bookshop. We get excited and talk a lot about all our ideas all the time.

We buy an espresso machine, return it, and end up spending (what at the time seems like) a lot of money on a "better" one. We try to find a good inexpensive burr grinder... the grinder exchanging will go on for months. The "pro-sumer" (yuppie) espresso machine will last for three.

Next month, we become professionals...

Busy, busy...

2007-01-09T10:15:00.000-06:00

It has been a very busy week. It really seems like this whole process so far has been "wait... wait... RUN!" then "wait, wait..." again. And we're definitely in the middle of a "run". We've been working on finalizing the design of the space, so we can apply for permits, and also figuring out how to get the identity design process wrapped up.

Here's a version of a logo we did way back when with one of our early naming concepts that eventually got the axe... just one of many, many design ideas that will never see the light of day.

Anyway, we took our last opportunity this week to step back and look at the interior layout and design for the space to see if it was really meeting our initial and primary criteria. It seemed like maybe we had lost some our initial design intent in all of the evolutionary practical decisions that had been made over the last six to ten months, so we made some changes to the layout and design, in some ways going back to earlier designs and adapting them to where we are today, and I think it's much better. It certainly feels more "right".

Seeing things coming together (on paper at least) is definitely encouraging though. The constant work on the project does sometimes get a little, well, constant. We haven't really had a break from working on it (or other design projects) in a long time. While I work on stuff for the shop during the day, Miguel is out working with clients, so we almost always end up spending the evenings and weekends together reviewing or working on some other aspect of the project. Sometimes at least we get out of the house/office, like Saturday we went to check out woods and veneers at a hardwood supplier and then went to look at furniture for the shop, but I have to admit I wouldn't mind a little vacation (or even a "real" weekend). I somehow don't think that's going to be happening anytime soon though!

Anyway, I don't mean to complain.
I just want to let you know why I haven't called a lot lately, Mom...

[Note: If you've already read the "How did we get here?" series, you can click here to skip to the next chronological post, otherwise, carry on...]

A happiest of new years to you all!

2007-01-02T15:37:00.001-06:00

Well, 2007 has sneakily arrived.

We passed the highly emphasized tick-tock moment curled up on the couch, being aware and thankful for what we have. I hope this new year will find you all well, safe and secure, and laughing often.

This next year promises to be an exciting one for us with the opening of the coffee bar. We're embarking into what is for us uncharted waters with the hope that we have prepared well enough to handle the waves as they come.

I was just saying to Miguel yesterday that this venture seems to require more faith in the unknown than what I'm used to. Reason, logic and calculations only get us so far, in the end it seems we have to trust that 'if we build it...", they'll come. We are definitely putting our heart (not to mention our savings) into it. The result though is that every decision feels critical... that it's the end of the world. I suppose if there's anything that I might resolve to work on (for the new year, of course), it's keeping perspective and a good sense of balance. I know The Coffee Studio will not be perfect, just as individually, none of us will ever be "perfect". Yet I suppose we all still manage to get along pretty well anyhow.

And so with a new eye on the new calendar, it's time to figure out when we'll be open. As a superstitious soul, I'm always terrified of jinxing myself, so for now, let me just say that we'll be open this Spring. Since it's almost time to be counting in weeks... I will say that ten weeks would be miraculous, fourteen very good, sixteen a bit depressing, and more than that, well, I don't want to talk about it. The rent and loan payments have to be made whether we're open or not, so the sooner we start bringing in some revenue, the better I'll sleep!

Coffee fact for the day: Mocha (Java)

2006-12-29T12:49:00.000-06:00

Miguel stopped at Metropolis last night to pick up some espresso and got some Mocha Java beans for brewing as well. As I was preparing it for him this morning to take in his thermos, I got to wondering about the name. Java is in Indonesia, I got that, and I knew the term Mocha in that sense doesn't reference the coffee-chocolate flavor that many people think of (as in a Caffe Mocha), but then it seemed probable that the flavor got the name from whatever Mocha originally meant. But why, I wondered. So with a little Google help, here's the skinny on Mocha (a port in Yemen, apparently), with a nice description from Peet's:

Mocha-Java is the world's most famous coffee blend. When someone first thought of combining these two origins, it was before coffee was widely grown around the world. These two coffees were undoubtedly much different from those which the countries of Yemen and Indonesia produce today, although Yemen still produces its coffee under very primitive conditions.

As with any blend everything depends on the quality of the coffees used, and in this case the result is a delicious full-bodied coffee with bittersweet chocolate overtones on top of rich and complex flavors. While Americans associate the word mocha with chocolate, they've reversed the facts: when cocoa was first refined and sold in Europe, it reminded people of Mocha coffee from Yemen.

So that's that. And now we know.

Here's the port of Mocha in 1692.

Still just the beginning...

2006-12-28T08:41:00.000-06:00

Now that the lease is signed (and the loan "closed"), the clock is ticking... rent's gonna be due soon.

The space should be turned over to us soon, and as soon as we can get our building permits (please go quickly, please, please...), we'll start construction on our buildout.

Here's the space back in May (when we first looked at it) and then this week after being pretty much gutted and repaired over the past few months. They were going to re-drywall over the brick, but we requested they just clean them up/sandblast them instead... what a difference that made (the brick was filthy)!

It's still just a shell though. Lots to do.

Of course, the actual building is only a part of the business. We still have plenty of other areas to work on, to name a few:

finalize the menu
secure necessary licenses and inspections
wrap up branding/identity development
order equipment
select vendors/suppliers
develop operational systems/materials
set up accounting systems
initiate marketing outreach
implement hiring and training plan
return ridiculously overdue library books on leasing retail space.

So... it's time to get back to work! In the meantime, here's something yummy to start the day.

Woo-hoo! (Finally)

2006-12-27T10:09:00.000-06:00

Well, friends, the time has come...

The Coffee Studio finally, officially, has a home!

We are so excited to soon be a part of the wonderful Andersonville neighborhood here in Chicago.

It seems so long ago we started on this journey. In reality, it's been fifteen months... and stacks of books, magazines, a Starbucks job, trade shows, barista jams, a trip to Seattle, online forums, podcasts, SBA/SCORE workshops, months of writing and editing the business plan, scraping pennies together, meetings with bankers, scouring the city for locations, space planning, negotiating leases, waiting by the phone, worrying, dreaming and pulling lots and lots of espresso shots.

It's been a hell of an experience so far, already trying in ways we hadn't anticipated, and I don't expect the future to be any different. But we're definitely learning as we go, and it's pretty damn exciting.

Thanks so much for all your support!

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