Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/38014
UNCOMMON GROUND Chicago Uncommon Ground’s rooftop garden grows produce used in food served at the two restaurants. BY ED AVIS S ometimes coff ee shop owners aspire to become gourmet restaurateurs. Sometimes it’s the other way around. Such was the case with the owner of Uncommon Ground, a 20-year-old coff ee shop with two locations on the North Side of Chicago. Uncommon Ground owner Michael Cameron had been the food and beverage director of a French hotel, and he was married t o the executive chef. Th ey knew how to create amazing food in an elegant atmosphere. But they had a longing for something else, perhaps fueled by Cameron’s upbringing in coff ee-rich Seattle. “As you can imagine, I have deep coff ee roots,” Cameron says. “I wanted to do something coff ee-related, but also that would showcase my wife’s and my passion for music, art, local food and community. We fi gured we’d been doing the fi ne dining thing for a while and wanted to do something casual that still had the feel of comfort with great service and attention to detail.” Th e couple started in 1990 with a coff ee cart/espresso bar in a shopping center in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Th ey quickly realized that they could not ignore their restaurant background and talent, and moved the business to a storefront in the Wrigleyville neighborhood on July 1, 1991. Uncommon Ground was soon a hit. With a cozy, rustic exposed-brick decor, the shop attracted customers from among the young urban professionals moving into the increasingly hip neighborhood. Th e coff ee drew them in, of course, but Cameron created a space that was, and continues to be, simply exceptional. Two fi replaces warm customers, and an art gallery features a monthly rotation of local artists. Th e tabletops are all craſt ed from trees that fell in Jackson Park in Chicago, and many other reclaimed materials are used throughout. “Off ering a warm, welcoming space ensures 42 | August 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com that our guests feel as comfortable as visiting a friend’s or family member’s house,” Cameron says. “Once you experience that feeling, you want to spend more time hanging out.” Th e decor is vital to Uncommon Ground’s success, but given Cameron’s gourmet background, naturally the edibles play a major role too. Th e shop serves food all day. Th e breakfast menu features such delights as the Spring Scramble, which includes California asparagus, organic spinach, house-made chicken sausage, and capriole goat cheese. Another big breakfast hit is the homemade granola topped with honey and seasonal fruit. Lunch diners enjoy treats such as the Pulled Duroc Pork Sandwich, with chipotle slaw, Cedar Grove cheddar, house- made BBQ sauce, and pickles on a soſt potato bun; and Crispy Creole Spiced Catfi sh Tacos. Many more of Cameron’s gourmet skills are on display at dinner. What other coff ee shop off ers Sauteed Lake Superior Whitefi sh, Organic Linguini and Clams or Crispy Summer Moullard Duck Breast? Not only is the food amazing, but much of the shop’s produce comes from its own organic rooſt op garden. “It’s the fi rst certifi ed organic rooſt op farm in the country,” Cameron says. “We grow food for both restaurants up there. It nets us some really tasty, extremely fresh and rare heirloom variety tomatoes that you really can’t normally get anywhere else.” Uncommon Ground has two locations, in Chicago’s Wrigleyville (3800 N. Clark St.) and Edgewater (1401 W. Devon Ave.) neighborhoods. Th ey are open from 9 a.m. to midnight Monday through Th ursday, 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to midnight Sunday. EQUIPMENT: La Espaziale espresso machine www.uncommonground.com