Anticonquista Café (Pilsen)

Chicago’s Bakeries Fight Back Against Fabricated Reviews Online | Eater Chicago

"Owners Lauren Reese and Elmer Fajardo Pacheco report that, although they haven't seen bad customer behavior, they put measures in place after a non-customer complained about the cafe’s pro-Palestinian artwork: "we don’t expect them to put themselves in a position to defend these causes as their safety is our priority," they wrote in an email, and they told staff that if anyone "harasses them by any means, to get one of us immediately to deal with said person, or to direct them to speak with us." The recently opened Pilsen cafe also posted in early March asking customers to be patient with new employees and placed signage on the workbar, community tables, and dining tables that includes the Wi‑Fi password as well as verbiage asking customers not to engage in video meetings and to obtain consent from individuals prior to taking photos or videos; "Our immigrant community doesn’t need any additional surveillances," they write. Since opening, they’ve had no pushback regarding the policy, and some customers have said it makes them feel safer. The owners frame their approach as elevating their autonomy as producers and distancing themselves from the 'customer always right' principle rooted in capitalism, asking, "Are there enough consumers who are in solidarity with what we’re trying to achieve?" - Lisa Shames

Chicago’s Anticonquista Cafe Is Decolonizing Pilsen’s Morning Lattes Along 18th Street | Eater Chicago

"A mural of the resplendent quetzal perched atop a machete and walls hung with burlap sacks from the owners' Guatemalan family farm set a politically conscious tone in this 1,000-square-foot Pilsen cafe on 18th Street, where buttons and artwork spotlight U.S. intervention in Latin America and honor farmworkers. The menu fuses Central American flavors with American café staples—Guatemalan conchas filled with sweet black bean paste or guava and cheese, cafe de olla lightly scented with farm‑sourced cardamom, bagels topped with curtido, and a vegan ceviche of oyster mushrooms, hearts of palm, and güisquil—plus pastries from local vendors and a coffee subscription that lets customers earmark portions of a specific harvest. Founded by a Guatemalan farmer-turned-roaster who scaled production from an 800‑gram to a 12‑kilo roaster, the business emphasizes direct trade and worker welfare: it pays for pickers' food and lodging on family farms, pays staff well above Chicago minimums (cashiers $18.50/hr; lead baristas $21.50/hr) with plans for benefits and farm-visit programs, and positions itself as a sanctuary and community hub for Chicago’s Central American diaspora while modeling a "fourth wave" approach that reconnects consumers to the labor and land behind their coffee." - Serena Maria Daniels

New to Pilsen in 2025 and acclaimed by Eater Chicago and Daily Coffee News, this cultivo-to-cup café serves beans from the co-owner’s family farm. Expect café de olla notes, cardamom accents, and events that center farmworker voices.