A Very Millennial Coffee Roaster Plans to Open a Cafe in Lakeview | Eater Chicago

"Founded by Alicia Zyburt and Devon Owens after they were furloughed during the pandemic, Bae Coffee Company began as a mail-order roaster in March 2020 and is planning a Lakeview cafe inside the former Pastoral space at 2945 N. Broadway, scheduled to open late fall 2021 or early 2022. The couple—who met when Zyburt was Owens’s regular barista—describe the cafe as “a little pink beacon” and what members of older generations might call peak millennial, translating their millennial-pink branding into clean lines, cursive signage, and lots of plants. They plan to serve drip coffee, espresso, and specialty drinks (including cordials, shrubs, espresso tonics, rose milk tea, and lattes flavored with syrups they make themselves), pastries, and eventually food specials; they also say they won’t shy away from serving their own pumpkin spice latte. After training on a roaster with Melissa Villanueva at Brewpoint in Elmhurst, they currently roast in small batches at that venue while aiming to add a roaster in the cafe; pastries will initially come from bakeries around the city (preferably female- and BIPOC-owned) and Owens hopes to start cooking there once he’s mastered coffee." - Aimee Levitt