Chicago’s Ukrainian coffee aficionados flock to new Lincoln Park cafe

A pistachio croissant with white chocolate, homemade pistachio paste and covered in crushed pistachio is served with a cappuccino at Soloway Coffee at 2275 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincoln Park.

When Ukrainian couple Artur and Iryna Yuzvik opened their first U.S. coffee shop in late January in Lincoln Park, they tried to moderate their expectations.

Their brand, Soloway Coffee, was a new entrant in Chicago’s dense and competitive coffee scene. They’re also behind roastery and cafe chain Karma Kava in their hometown of Ternopil, Ukraine, and they weren’t sure if U.S. caffeine aficionados would embrace their approach.

Whatever fears the couple harbored were put to rest almost immediately after the doors swung open at 2275 N. Lincoln Avenue. “We learned about long lines in Ukraine, but that’s nothing like here,” says Artur Yuzvik. “It was crazy, six or seven hours of a nonstop line.”

Owners Iryna Yuzvik and Artur Yuzvik at their Soloway Coffee and cafe in Lincoln Park. — Owners Iryna Yuzvik (left) and Artur Yuzvik at their Soloway Coffee and cafe in Lincoln Park.

Chicagoans aren’t the only ones beating a path to Soloway. One woman drove to Lincoln Park from Pennsylvania to get her hands on a Dotyk dripper, a sculptural ceramic brewing device sold at the cafe that’s made with clay from the city of Slovyansk in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, an area decimated by Russian military actions over the past two years.

Ukrainian Americans are visiting the cafe from states like Wisconsin, Connecticut and New York with some “driving for five or six hours to refresh their memories of home [in Ukraine],” Artur Yuzvik says.

Bags of Soloway Cofee beans are for sale at Soloway Coffee.

The Chicago area is home to the second-largest Ukrainian American population in the U.S. with 54,000 people identifying as having Ukrainian ancestry. The community has dwelled in Chicago for more than a century, and recently a fresh crop of Ukrainian American chefs has brought new attention to the country’s cuisine at spots like Anelya in Avondale and Pierogi Kitchen in Bucktown.

On the East Coast, another Ukrainian coffee entrepreneur is putting down roots. Maks Isakov owned a coffee company in Vinnytsya, Ukraine, but was forced to abandon his business and flee the country when the Russian military invaded. He’s since founded Kavka Coffee in Camden, Maine.

In Chicago, the enormity of the response from customers has prompted the Yuzviks to accelerate their expansion. They plan to soon sign a lease for a second location but aren’t yet ready to announce the address or neighborhood, divulging only that it will be near the original. They also say that it will be an all-day affair that transitions from morning to evening and will feature a large selection of sweets.

The cheescake and other sweet treats are made in-house at Soloway Coffee.

At the original cafe, the couple has partnered with Chicago carb whiz Dan “the Baker” Koester on a menu of pastries like chewy cinnamon knots, flaky croissants (strawberry, lemon, and almond) and impossibly creamy burnt Basque cheesecake (“ugly outside but pretty inside,” Artur Yuzvik says).

There’s also a selection of savory items including sandwiches and avocado burrata toast, a lineup they plan to expand significantly while adding more fresh produce.

An outdoor patio, which the owners call “summer seating,” will open in May or June with more than two dozen seats. It’ll kick off with a borscht pop-up that aims to evoke memories of the traditional Ukrainian soup with a contemporary culinary flair. They’ve held numerous pop-ups in Ukraine and hope to continue that practice in Chicago.

Customers enjoy coffee, pastries and sandwiches at Soloway Coffee.

The first few months have been instructive for the Yuzviks, who say they were surprised to discover that their American customers tend to avoid sugary treats in the morning, instead ordering croissants and cheesecake around 2 p.m. They also hadn’t expected demand for iced drinks in the winter, but say they’ve seen entire families order cold brew on some of the chilliest days of the year.

The most significant lesson since the cafe’s debut emerged from a conversation the couple overheard among customers in line. The group mentioned that employees at Chicago’s lauded Metric Coffee had praised Soloway and encouraged them to visit. The Yuzviks are friendly with Metric founders Xavier Alexander and Darko Arandjelovic and leaned on them for beans when they unexpectedly sold out weeks before the next shipment was due to arrive. Still, the idea of a coffee shop directing their customers elsewhere was entirely unexpected.

A ham sandwich with Swiss cheese, parmesan, basil and a side of gazpacho is served at Soloway Coffee.

“We were shocked and surprised,” Iryna Yuzvik says in Ukrainian, which her husband translates into English. “In Ukraine, it’s a bit different. In the U.S., it’s more about good relations and more friendly business.”

Soloway Coffee, 2275 N. Lincoln Avenue, Open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m daily.

This story was originally published on chicago.eater.com.