Chicago-based Sputnik Coffee Company has expanded its footprint with the opening of a new café earlier this month, located less than half a mile from its original South Side roastery. The spacious 2,000-square-foot café features an expansive view into a state-of-the-art roasting facility designed for efficiency and visual appeal.
The new café is outfitted with striking red Mazzer grinders and a white La Marzocco espresso machine, harmonizing with a bright red 60-kilo-capacity IMF roaster and six white silos visible through a 25-foot glass wall. A pneumatic system transports green coffee beans from the silos to the roaster, streamlining operations for co-owner Greesha Kagan, who now can manage roasting more effectively.
“It’s an impressive setup,” said Vova Kagan, co-owner of Sputnik Coffee. “Greesha has been roasting at night to keep up with demand. Previously, he was using a smaller 15-kilo roaster seven days a week. Now he can accomplish all his roasting in just a couple of hours, allowing us to focus on new products and café openings.”
Among the innovations Sputnik is introducing is a canned pre-ground coffee product, made possible by a refurbished 1950s-era CanCo vacuum canning machine.
“Our line allows us to package ground and whole bean coffee, tea, and matcha under full vacuum, preserving freshness better than nitrogen flushing,” Vova Kagan explained. “The cans are fully recyclable, and they are the most recycled product in terms of material recovery.”
Sputnik’s core blend, a well-balanced medium roast, is now available at both cafés, online, and in over 400 grocery stores across the region.
Founded in 2017 by brothers Vova and Greesha Kagan in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, Sputnik Coffee has distinguished itself by offering a single signature blend instead of the typical array of single-origin coffees.
“Everyone told us we were wrong, but we’ve maintained our sanity and worked together to deliver a great product,” Vova Kagan remarked.
The café’s interior includes a spacious seating area that accommodates up to 60 customers. An imported Belgian waffle maker produces fresh waffles in the café’s approximately 500-square-foot kitchen. Patrons place orders at a sleek bar crafted from glass mosaic tiles and concrete, designed to appear as though it is floating, thanks to an unseen I-beam.
“We wanted to create an open space where customers can see their drinks being made,” Kagan said. “This design encourages cleanliness and maintains a welcoming atmosphere.”
Located in an industrial corridor in Brighton Park, the building housing the new café was on the brink of demolition before Sputnik acquired it. The renovation process took nearly three years, involving extensive masonry and roofing work, with a $1.2 million city grant covering about one-third of the renovation costs.
Of the building’s total 28,000 square feet, Sputnik has revitalized just over half for its operations. Future plans include the introduction of a bottled cold brew line and further production expansion.
“The buildout was more costly than anticipated,” Kagan acknowledged. “But we don’t regret anything. We now have the space to grow without feeling cramped. Investing the time and resources is essential to realizing our dream, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
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