- Credibility:
UPTOWN — A Wilson Avenue building will continue to house a cafe with Elevate Coffee taking the place of the closed Heritage Outpost.
Elevate Coffee is set to open this month at 1325 W. Wilson Ave. It is the second location for Elevate Coffee, which opened in Northalsted in 2018.
Elevate is taking the space previously occupied by Heritage Outpost, a bike-themed coffee shop that closed in November after eight years on Wilson Avenue. Heritage Outpost, which got its start in Lakeview before expanding to Uptown, consolidated into its sister location in the Lawrence House building.
After refining their product and finding success with their Northalsted location, Elevate’s owners spent years planning and scouting a second location, said Elena Zistakis, who owns Elevate with brother Nikola Zistakis and his partner, Alexandra Evangelou.
They settled on a historical Wilson Avenue building that includes Charlie Chaplin among its former tenants. The building’s stately nature and historical significance factored heavily into the reason it was chosen for Elevate’s second location, Elena Zistakis said. Construction on their space began March 20.
“Nikola is an architect, and as soon as he walked into the lobby of 1325 W. Wilson Ave., he immediately had a vision for what the space could be,” Elena Zistakis said in a statement.
Credit: Courtesy Elevate CoffeeThe family-run coffee shop will include a dining area, a walk-up window and an outdoor seating area that will debut this summer.
The food and drink menu will be the same as at Elevate’s Northalsted location, including specialty coffee drinks like the crem bru-latte, spiced maple latte and Belgian mocha. Food options include breakfast and lunch items like avocado caprese toast.
The shop will also feature seasonal items that are curated by the baristas.
“We are thrilled to join the Uptown neighborhood and create a sense of community through creative, elevated coffee drinks and delicious food,” Nikola Zistakis said in a statement. “With the pandemic creating many challenges for small businesses, we are grateful to have the opportunity to expand our family-run coffee shop.”
Updates on Elevate Coffee’s Uptown location, including an opening date, will be shared on its Instagram page.
Listen to “It’s All Good: A Block Club Chicago Podcast”:
