Milwaukee-based coffee retailer Colectivo Coffee plans to open its first out-of-state café in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood and last week received a permit to renovate a property, according to Chicago Cityscape, a website that tracks permits in the city.
The Chicago building permit, issued June 13, lists Scott Schwebel, director of marketing for Colectivo, as owner of the property, located at 2530 N. Clark St. on the city’s north side, about 1.5 miles from Wrigley Field. The address of Colectivo’s main roasting facility on Humboldt Boulevard in Milwaukee is listed as the owner address.
Thomas Kubala, principal architect at Cedarburg-based The Kubala Washatko Architects Inc., is listed as the architect for the build out.
The renovation of the two-story, 1,800-square-foot building is described as a tenant build out of a café on the first floor and a proposed one-story addition. The project is estimated to cost $800,000.
Lincoln Fowler, co-owner and one of three founders of Colectivo, referred a reporter to Schwebel, who could not be reached for comment.
Colectivo, previously called Alterra, has about 400 employees at 16 cafes in Milwaukee and Madison. The company’s first café opened in 1993, and it has grown rapidly over the past several years, expanding into the Madison market and adding its own bakery, Troubador.
Chicago publication DNA Info first reported on the plans for the Lincoln Park cafe.
Update: Colectivo confirmed its Chicago expansion and released renderings of the buildout several days after this news was reported. It expects to open the new cafe in the fall.
“We’ve had our eye on Chicago for years,” Fowler said in the offical release. “It’s a world-class city where we can grow our business while supporting new communities and neighborhoods. This cafe will showcase the unique brand experience that we’ve been developing in Milwaukee for the past 23 years.”
