Some Wisconsin Coffee Legends Are Invading Lincoln Park

Squeaky cheese aside, our neighbors to the north have a lot to offer.

A respectable football team. A few beer behemoths. And Colectivo Coffee. The latter has been roasting coffee in Milwaukee since 1993 and offers a great deal of just that at its first Chicago location. It’s open now and looks like this.

Planting its flag in Lincoln Park, the all-day café is here to meet a lot of your needs. Your need for caffeine. Your need for flaky croissants. Your need for both of those things next to a fire pit on a massive patio.

These intrepid pioneers specialize in something called session roasting. It means their blends defy dark or light and, instead, are roasted to accentuate balance and sweetness. Basically, damn fine coffee offered as your drip, pour-over or milky espresso beverage of choice.

And their sandwich selection is almost as extensive as their coffee one. They have the quintessential bacon biscuit sandwich and a less expected falafel burger covered in cucumber-mint sauce. They have draft beer, too, which they brew themselves at Colectivo Keg Co.

It’s okay if they’re your heroes now.