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After a nearly two-year hiatus, Loba Pastry + Coffee reopened earlier this summer at its new West Lakeview location.
Originally housed for six years on North Lincoln Avenue, after making it through the pandemic, owner Valeria Socorro Velazquez Lindsten decided to upgrade the facility by taking over a retail space about two blocks north of the original location. Loba can now be found next to the Addison Brown Line stop at 1800 W. Addison St.
Velazquez Lindsten said Loba’s menu was developed through an extensive process involving consciously moving away from the status quo.
“Going to coffee shops and going to bakeries, you always see the same things,” she said. Instead of the classic blueberry muffin or chocolate croissant, Loba’s customers can try a Golden Snail pastry, made with turmeric, citrus-soaked raisins and Tahitian vanilla syrup; or a pineapple sourdough muffin, a popular naturally leavened offering that reminds Velazquez Lindsten of summers in Mexico.
While Loba is likely on the more expensive side of the Chicago coffee spectrum, Velazquez Lindsten said the prices reflect her use of local organic grains, dairy and farm eggs.
“Quality dairy is very important for me,” she said. “So that drives the prices of pastries.”
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While Velazquez Lindsten received much of her training and experience in Chicago’s fine-dining establishments, through Loba she aims to take her expertise and cultivate a different working atmosphere.
“One thing that is really buzzing right now — ‘The Bear’ — those are the type of restaurants that I worked in,” she said. “You see the depiction of this white guy and the way that he was treated in the kitchen. Just imagine a brown girl that’s pretty short with a thick accent. If that’s the way they treated this guy, you don’t have to have a wild imagination to figure out how I was treated.”
One of Velazquez Lindsten’s greatest prides is that many of the employees who worked at the pastry shop two years ago decided to come back to work at the new location — a testament to the positive work environment she aims to cultivate.
Velazquez Lindsten infused her shop’s culture and menu with elements of her childhood in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“In Mexican culture, the act of feeding or sitting together for meals is so important,” she said. Velazquez Lindsten described her shop as a true community effort.
One significant influence on the development of the shop were the women of her family, particularly her mother and grandmother. Growing up in a family of skilled cooks, Velazquez Lindsten recalled watching her grandmother caring for a coffee bush, so she could ground and prepare the morning coffee the way she enjoyed. Similarly, Velazquez Lindsten’s mother also prepared the family essentials at home.
“We weren’t allowed to eat bread unless she made it. We didn’t really have dairy unless she fermented it,” she said of her mother. This upbringing heavily influenced Velazquez Lindsten’s passion for fresh ingredients.
If you plan on adding Loba to your morning coffee-run rotation, pay close attention to its hours. It is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. On Saturdays and Sundays, these hours shorten to 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you plan on sticking around a little longer, the shop has five tables, where customers can enjoy the freshly baked pastries and welcoming atmosphere.
1800 W. Addison St., 773-456-9266, lobapastry.com
More new and notable restaurant and bar openings, in alphabetical order:
Clumsy Cow BBQ
Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, historically falsely accused of knocking over a lantern that started the Great Chicago Fire, is the honorary namesake of a new barbecue restaurant in the Loop. Clumsy Cow BBQ kicked off right next door to Central Camera on June 22. You’ll find beef brisket, pork baby back ribs, plus even a vegetarian Southern fried lion’s mane mushroom sandwich and that’s no bull — unlike the old anti-Irish immigrant legend.
234 S. Wabash Ave., 708-330-4209, clumsycowbbq.com
Estación
Chef Mark Mendez, best known for Latin-inspired cuisine, has brought it back to his Puerto Rican family roots. Estación, part of the Libertad Restaurant Group where Mendez leads as culinary director, quietly debuted in Evanston on June 14. The Caribbean menu features a jibarito night on Saturdays, sancocho with short ribs and a piña colada, invented on the island.
633 W. Howard St., Evanston; 224-714-2196; eatestacion.com
Justice of the Pies
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James Beard-nominated baker and cookbook author Maya-Camille Broussard finally finds a home of her own, with a fateful family connection to her sweet tooth. Justice of the Pies soft-launched in the Avalon Park neighborhood on the South Side of the city July 7, in a building that was once her mother’s childhood dentist’s office. The Black woman-owned business bakes her signature strawberry basil key lime pie, plus new shokupan cinnamon rolls and ginger cardamom lemon bars. Do note the bakery has very limited hours for now.
8655 S. Blackstone Ave., justiceofthepies.com
Kashmir
From the creators of Beatnik and Porto comes the newest escapist experience by the Bonhomme Hospitality Group. Kashmir got their party started in the West Loop on June 29. There’s no food, but there is bottle service with a $2,000 Macallan, a $3,500 Fuenteseca and a $4,000 Yamazaki, all 18 years old —evidently 2005 was a very good year for spirits.
1436 W. Randolph St., kashmirclub.com
Maman Zari
Mariam Shahsavarani’s grandmother lends her name to what may be the only finer-dining Persian tasting menu restaurant in this country. Maman Zari began serving a seasonal summer Iranian menu by chef Matteo Lo Bianco in the diverse Albany Park neighborhood July 27. The restaurant offers standard and vegetarian tastings featuring quail and tahdig fesenjan, rose petal flecked faloodeh, plus wine pairings and nonalcoholic drinks, including the Sparkling Saveh, named for the city in Iran famous for its pomegranate.
4639 N. Kedzie Ave., 773-961-7866, mamanzari.com
Monarch & Lion
What happens when a modern Indian restaurant group opens a British pub in Chicago? Monarch & Lion roared to life, from the owners of Bar Goa and Rooh, in Streeterville on June 29. Get British Indian classics including tikka masala with chicken or paneer, lamb shank rogan josh, plus turmeric gin and tonic.
302 E. Illinois St., 312-973-2623, monarchandlion.com
Sifr
What happens when two Indian chefs, including Sahil Sethi, previously at Bar Goa and Rooh Chicago, open a modern Middle Eastern restaurant in the city? Sifr, which means zero in Arabic, represents a fresh start from the team behind Indienne for the former Bernie’s space in River North since June 29. Yes, there’s hummus, but with charred green and chickpeas, plus a Wahid cocktail with knafeh washed bourbon.
660 N. Orleans St., 464-204-8711, sifrchicago.com
Sip & Savor South Loop
Founder Trez Pugh celebrated the fifth location of his beloved coffee shops just ahead of NASCAR weekend. Sip & Savor began pouring in the South Loop on June 22. The Black-owned business, 20 years in the making, will start your engines with their signature caramel royale latte, strawberry lemon summer sip and a turkey sausage breakfast sandwich.
31 E. Roosevelt Road, 312-285-2636, sipandsavorchicago.com
Te’amo Sweets
Our Readers’ Choice Award winner Te’Amo Boba Bar has expanded yet again with a new concept by founder Mia Wan. Te’amo Sweets opened in Chinatown with a lucky red-ribbon cutting and traditional fresh flower displays June 12. You can order cute custom cakes from the Asian woman-owned business with pandan chiffon, plus find slices of white peach oolong mille crepe cakes and cups of mango pomelo sago jelly, but they’re not too sweet, perhaps the highest compliment for Chinese pastries.
Eat. Watch. Do.
2306 S. Archer Ave., teamosweets.us
Restaurant closures, in chronological order:
Wherewithall, the sensational seasonal sequel restaurant to Parachute, opened by Michelin-starred chefs and spouses Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, closed just shy of four years June 14.
John’s Pizzeria, the thin crust tavern-style specialist since 1957 in Logan Square, sliced its last square June 22.
Dos Urban Cantina, once called the most important Mexican restaurant since Topolobampo, opened by chefs and spouses Brian Enyart and Jennifer Jones Enyart in Logan Square, closed after eight years June 30.
Owen & Engine, the British-inspired pub in Logan Square, whose chef and owner Bo Fowler survived two stress-induced heart attacks and quintuple bypass surgery, announced it will close Aug. 29 after 14 years. Tragically, restaurant server Marshall Russell was fatally shot during an attempted robbery outside the California Clipper on July 16, according to Block Club Chicago.
Know of a Chicago-area restaurant or bar that’s new and notable? Email food critic Louisa Chu at lchu@chicagotribune.com.
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