Went up to Jacksonville, IL for my Dad’s retirement party. Decided to visit both the new coffeeshops in town while I was there.
1) Shop #1. Old wonderful 3 story building in old town. Unfortunately old town is not very busy. The shop used home equipment (Capresso brewers) and a home superautomatic espresso machine. The grinder looked like a mazzer mini. Coffee was decent, probably not fresh roasted. Quality of foam wasn’t great. Closed on Sunday and Monday and doesn’t open until 8AM???? How they’ll pay that A/C bill in the summer I don’t know!
2) Shop #2. On the main strip and gets a lot of drive by traffic. Looked like a sub shop on the inside with a roaster in the corner and a small band area in another. Espresso machine was filthy with cooked on milk 3 inches up the wand (preparation problem). No crema on the espresso I didn’t drink 🙂 Had some lunchtime activity but I’d be surprised if they take in more than $700/day. According to my family it is popular on the weekend with the teens since they have a lot of music.
Happy retirement Dad…!