Logan Square café serves 'liquid pick-me-up' all the way from Guatemala
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A tiny shop with a big mission recently opened on Armitage Avenue in Logan Square.
The husband and wife team bring coffee beans from Chicago to Guatemala.
But it's more than a farm-to-table set-up.
Morning Insider Lauren Victory explains in our continuing coverage for Hispanic Heritage Month.
First-time Anticonquista Café customers quickly learn what's in their cup is like no other in Chicago. The liquid pick-me-up is picked all the way in Guatemala by Elmer Fajardo's brothers and dad.
"They have been growing coffee in my town for generations," said Fajardo who grew up in Esquipulas before moving to Chicago about 10 years ago.
In recent years, Fajardo's family farm would only get $10 from coffee conglomerates for a 50-pound bag of green coffee. That's $10 versus the $70 that a bag of "fairtrade" coffee would yield. Fajardo pays his family more than $200 for a 50-pound bag.
"We are the ones who are growing coffee. We are the ones who are giving the people this product but they [coffee exporters] are not paying us enough," said Fajardo who, along with his wife Lauren Reese, decided to shake things up. They started Anticonquista Café in 2020.
"It [the name] reflects that we don't want to be under control of these multinational corporations," Fajardo explained.
The family crop is roasted in West Town after import. Since 2020, the Guatemalan coffee could be found at farmers markets and on various sidewalks via the Anticonquista Café mobile (bicycle) café. A brick and mortar store in Logan Square is the company's latest chapter. They named the shop La Montanita where it's not just jars of java on the menu.
"Artists, makers and other food businesses can actually pop-up and sell with us," said Reese. "It's purely just for the community looking for space because we know what it's like to be a street vendor as well."
Pop-up vendors aren't charged.
Lennita's Tiendita, a jewelry maker and Justice Cream, an ice cream company that gives its profits to community organizations, recently sold their products at La Montanita.
Upcoming pop-ups include Plantitas Parlor on Oct. 1 and Florist Gypsy Alley on Oct. 29. Both will be there from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Reese hopes to host bigger events if and when Anticonquista Café expands beyond La Montanita.
"The next phase is El Monte which is a bigger mountain, a bigger space," she said. "Know your right workshops, intercambio language Spanish-English nights. Those are things that we really want to do so we're just working our way to that point," she said.
La Montanita is only open on Fridays and Saturdays right now because the owners are focused on coffee sales at farmers markets.
They plan to expand hours when the weather gets colder.
As for Fajardo's family in Guatemala, he said they're happy working for their brother in the U.S.
"They can survive there without leaving the country," he said.
