Down to Business: Best coffee in the world needs best hospitality to sell it, Sparrow manager says
Address: 120 Water St., Naperville
Phone/website: 630-384-8940; www.sparrowcoffee.com
General manager: Megan Gottig, 46, of Naperville
Years in business: 7
What does your business do? 'We serve coffee. It's very good coffee. And we have very good food. We have exceptional pastries that we prepare in-house,' Gottig said.
What's the background? 'We roast our own coffee. Sparrow Coffee Roastery opened 13 years ago, near the United Center. … Our founder, Chris Chacko, he's been in the coffee industry 35 years. He's well connected in the coffee world. He brought us to an expo in Portland two years ago, everyone knew him. He opened Sparrow Roastery as a whole coffee roaster for high-end restaurants. We are in two-thirds of the Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago.'
Why open a coffee shop in Naperville? 'The Hotel Indigo, when this project opened, the management company was looking for an anchor. They wanted a coffee house. They stumbled on Sparrow Coffee and asked us.'
Why is this place always crowded? 'It's the trifecta. We have excellent coffee, great food and it's a wonderful location. But that doesn't mean anything if we don't have a friendly staff.'
How do you ensure that? 'When we hire our staff, we're not looking for coffee experience or qualifications. We know the coffee piece. They have to be first of all, good people, friendly people. Willing to have a conversation. Be attentive. Hospitality is first.'
How much coffee do you sell in a week? 'See all those black bags on the wall? We get twice that much each week. Each bag is five pounds.'
What do you order here? 'We don't serve anything we're not 100% behind. We have a grading scale. … It has to have a certain score. … We do that several time a year to all of our items. … Our food items came a little later after we opened. Our avocado toast, I've never had a better one. … We get ham from a local farm. We make our own sauerkraut. We make our own jam.'
How much coffee do you drink daily? 'I know my limits. … If I drink more than two cups, I won't sleep. But we have excellent decaf.'
Where are the coffee beans from? 'All around the world. Our roastery manager (went on) a trip to Brazil last summer. … I just got back from Australia. We went to a coffee expo in Melbourne.'
What do you like about your job? 'I love meeting people. I love talking with people. There's always a new challenge here, something to figure out. … Plus, it' s coffee. I'm not doing kidney transplants back there. You can't take yourself too seriously, but we take hospitality seriously. … Some of the regulars have become friends of mine.'
What challenges do you face? 'I don't want to say we don't have any competition. Starbucks figured out world domination. It's just that we're doing something different. … I don't think anyone does coffee in Naperville the way we do.'
What does that mean? 'We're serving top-tier specialty coffee. The beans are graded. Almost like a wine. Graded on a scale that's international. And we know how to roast it because we have Chris, so the coffees taste great.
'We have a specific coffee program. If you order a latte, there's a swan or tulip (decoration). Latte art, you can't make that art if you're not doing it right.'
How many employees work here? 'We have 25 to 40. Summer is our busiest season. The river walk is nonstop.'
When are you busiest? 'Between 9 and 11 on Saturday morning.'
What misconceptions do people have? 'Sometimes people come in and see all the high-tech equipment and think, 'Oh, they're going to be snobby.' I make sure that doesn't happen. … We want to be a bright spot in people's days.'
What does a customer say? 'It feels like home, but it feels stylish. The best coffee. I'm pregnant. I always get the decaf cappuccino. It's perfect,' Gabriella Moscatelli, of Oswego, said.
Any favorite stories? 'After I became the GM, the first week we had the polar vortex. We had to close for three days. Nobody was coming. … Then a pipe burst in the hotel and flooded our entire café.'
Any future plans? 'Our second coffee house is coming to Clarendon Hills this fall. … We have an awesome location near the train station, an old Starbucks.'
What's your advice for someone starting a business? 'Get to know every part of it. … I really do treat this place like it's mine.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eater
17 hours ago
- Eater
The Saddest Restaurant Closures in Austin This July
is an editor for Eater's Texas region. She lives in Dallas, where she's written about James Beard-celebrated and Michelin-recognized restaurants and she loves nachos. In a fast-paced place like Austin, restaurants come and go all the time. Do you know of an Austin-area restaurant closure that's not on this list? Drop us a line at austin@ Z'Tejas The final location of this Austin-born institution, located in Kyle, closed on June 30. It ran for 36 years, serving up Southwestern-inspired Tex-Mex. The original location on Austin's West Sixth Street closed in March 2023, the final Austin location closed in April this year, and over the ensuing month, the business dwindled to the final Z-Tejas in Kyle. The company intended to sell the business off at the beginning of the year, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Jewboy Subs As has been widely reported, Jewboy Subs closed on July 20. The good news is, owner Mo Pittle already has plans in place to open a Jewboy Sliders in Domain Northside. It will be inside the Lavaca Street Bar there, per the Austin Business Journal. Pittle will have a five-year lease in that location, which will serve lunch and late-night bites, plus a new menu of bar foods. The bad news is that the closure was due to a rent increase that Pittle couldn't afford. Aster's Ethiopian Located near the University of Texas campus, this Ethiopian restaurant seems to have quietly closed since June. It was open for more than 30 years, serving buffet-style meals. The reason for the closure is unknown. Milky Way Shakes For the second time, this vegan food truck has closed. This time, the owners cited the 'challenging economic climate' in an Instagram post, saying, 'The cost of goods has skyrocketed, and sales simply can't [keep] pace.' Its last day of service was on July 13. Cielo Nightclub It is a bummer to see this Latin nightclub off Sixth Street shut down, but its final day was on July 19. The closure was announced on Instagram, without any reason cited. It ran for 16 years, and the owners thanked patrons in the post, saying, 'Without a doubt, your patronage supported our long journey, allowing Cielo to be a fabric of Austin's Latin community.' The post also teased something new on the way, but it is unclear if that means something new in the same space or a new business elsewhere from the same people. Easy Tiger The Easy Tiger location on South Lamar closed for the summer, which operators attributed to a plan to 'remodel and refresh our space' in an Instagram post. The location in the Linc remains open. The post didn't indicate a date when the South Lamar spot will reopen. Jim Jim's Water Ice Consider this your early warning to get to Jim Jim's this summer because it will be the last summer you can. The long-running business, with a shop on Sixth Street and five push carts around Austin, will close in October, per a report in the San Antonio Express-News. The reason why is pretty wholesome: Owners Jim and Rachel Moy want to stop making their family work through the summer. The pair plan to travel with their 12-year-old son, visiting various national parks. They'll retain the Jim Jim's trademark just in case their son wants to reopen the business at some point in the future.
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
Miami Spice 2025: Dine at Michelin-starred restaurants for $35
Frugal foodies, rejoice. Miami Spice returns next week. Why it matters: The summer restaurant discount program gives diners a chance to eat Michelin-starred meals at budget-friendly prices — while supporting local restaurants during their off-season. 🤑 How it works: Running from Aug. 1-Sept. 30, Miami Spice Restaurant Months features over 300 local restaurants. Order prix fixe, three-course meals for $35 each for lunch or brunch and $45-$60 each for dinner. (Drinks, taxes and gratuity not included.) Each menu comes with an appetizer, entree and dessert. Just remember to ask your waiter for the Miami Spice menu specifically. To qualify, restaurants must offer 30% savings off their regular menu, per the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, which organizes the annual program. ⭐️ Notable restaurants participating: The list includes Michelin-starred restaurants Cote Miami, Le Jardinier Miami and Stubborn Seed. Cote, the acclaimed Korean steakhouse in the Design District, is offering a $35 lunch Monday-Friday. Le Jardinier, also in the Design District, is offering $35 lunch and $60 dinner Tuesday-Sunday. Stubborn Seed, located in South of Fifth, is serving $60 dinner Monday-Thursday and Sunday. Nobu Miami, the high-end sushi restaurant in Miami Beach, is offering a $60 dinner Monday-Thursday and Sunday. Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant in South of Fifth is offering $35 lunch and $60 dinner on varying days. The intrigue: Some of the most audacious restaurants in Miami are lowering their prices for Miami Spice, including Papi Steak, (in)famous for serving a $1,000 steak in a gold briefcase. $60 will get you a 6-oz filet mignon (probably just on a regular plate). ❤️ More restaurants we love: 😋 Restaurants we want to try:
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
They're rich. They're anti-Trump. And they don't want their big tax cut.
Kimberly Hoover has been to most Michelin-star restaurants on the East and West coasts. She and her wife, multimillionaires from their real estate firms, own homes in or near New York City, Washington, Miami and Quebec. Their lives are filled with skiing, fine wine and long trips to Europe. Hoover's accountant estimates that the new tax law that President Donald Trump signed this month will save her several million dollars over the next few years. While many Americans might rejoice at that kind of windfall, Hoover worked hard to stop it from becoming a reality, arguing to lawmakers that she has more money than she needs.
