Located in Englewood, Kusanya is a nonprofit coffee shop & creative community gathering place.
Kusanya Cafe opened in November 2013 and serves coffee, breakfast-all-day, and lunch. We also host community and arts events and provide job training and apprenticeship.
Kusanya is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and is sustained by cafe sales and individual donations and small grants. We exist to provide the place where great people can come together over great food, and community-born events can take place.
Sit and stay a while. During the day, Kusanya is a "for-here-mug" kind of place. We exist for the casual interactions among neighbors, the chance meetings, and the collaboration that happens organically when people are together.
Phone
(773) 675-4758
Location
825 West 69th St
Chicago, IL 60621
Hours
[We are open again! Please note limited operating hours due to pandemic]
M-F 7am-1pm
Sa closed
Su closed
Breakfast
Beverages
Every month, Kusanya is home to a variety of community-driven arts, culture and educational events.
Regular EventS
Past events
We host over 100 community and private events per year.
Like everything else at Kusanya, events develop organically over time. Most begin as an idea; an informal conversation over the counter between a customer and Kusanya staff. From there, some ideas become one-time events, and some of those end up becoming annual or monthly events! At right are our current lineup of regular events.
ROASTING Room
We roast on-site in small batches for an unmatchably fresh coffee experience.
Single origins are from a specific country, region, or even farm. Each is specially roasted to bring out their unique flavor profile. We frequently roast Ethiopia, Congo, and El Salvador (in season).
Blends are more balanced and consistent coffees, consisting of beans from several origins. Our Wolf Blend has a smooth but robust flavor you are sure to love.
You can buy our coffee by the pound at our brick-and-mortar location, Kusanya Cafe, online (for shipping within the continental United States), or at Dill Pickle Food Co-Op in Logan Square.
The work of Kusanya is sustained by community support and donors large and small.
You can make a donation to support our continued work at the register or online (see pennies section below).
Your donation means a lot to us! We are a very small organization trying to accomplish big things. With a staff of just 5 people, we really pinch pennies and make sure every dollar goes a long way.
You might have seen our coffee cup (pictured at right) when visiting the cafe. The names in the cup actually represent all the people who supported the cafe before we ever opened our doors! To see past & present donors, visit our Donors' Circle (link coming soon).
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Support our On-going Work in Englewood.
We offer a variety of catering options for on-site (Kusanya) meetings or pick-up.
Order in advance for groups 10-50 people. Breakfast and lunch! Most of the regular menu, plus a few special catering items are available. .
Special options: Coffee Boxes ($20) serve 10; cups and fixins' are included. Sandwich platters are customizable - specify the number of sandwiches and the type, or get a random assortment. Sandwich platters can also be served as 1/2s for lighter fare.
Napkins are provided with catering but other service items (plates, utensils) are not, unless the catering is on-site at the café. Please call or email for further information.
Email Updates
Press
'Vulnerable' café makes a stand in a tough part of town
Article by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Mary Schmich. Excerpt: When Phil Sipka and some of his Englewood neighbors opened a cafe a year ago this week, skeptics had suggestions. How about rolling security gates over the wall-size windows? Or a permanently locked door, with a buzzer to buzz customers in? Maybe a nighttime security guard. Sipka and his neighbors had a different idea.
A coffeehouse for Englewood
Article and photography by Stephanie Barto. Excerpt: Kusanya Café opened last month to a flurry of press intrigued that someone would launch such aventure in Englewood...
Four years passed between the initial idea of opening Kusanya Cafe and its debut on November 19, 2013. Those years were fraught with multiple instances of absentee commercial property owners backing out of lease negotiations, and banks refusing to lend money for the venture. Kusanya’s eventual success relied heavily upon Kickstarter funding and the rallying of resources within the neighborhood..
Englewood comeback proves ingenuity is homegrown
Article by Rebekah Frumkin. “There’s about 60,000 people here, yet most of the stories you hear are about 200 of them,” Harbin says. “Those 59,800 are doing some remarkable things, but we only hear about the 200 that are not.”
...Also working to strengthen the community is Kusanya Cafe on West 69th Street, a non-profit coffee house that doubles as a performance space for local artists.