Afternoon Edition: A Chicago cafe's unique connection with the Ukrainian community

Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶

In today’s newsletter, we’ve got the story of a local Ukrainian couple who took a leap and opened their first U.S. coffee shop after finding success with their first cafe in their home country.

Read about their experience opening the shop — and what it means to Chicago’s Ukrainian community — below.

Plus, we have reporting on a man facing a retrial after being freed by the governor, a high school step team and more community stories you need to know this afternoon. 👇

⏱️: A 7-minute read

— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)

TODAY’S TOP STORY

New Lincoln Park cafe connects with Chicago’s Ukrainian community

Naomi Waxman | Chicago Eater

Brew beginnings: When Ukrainian couple Artur and Iryna Yuzvik opened their first U.S. coffee shop in late January in Lincoln Park, they tried to moderate their expectations. Their brand, Soloway Coffee, was a new entrant in Chicago’s dense and competitive coffee scene. They’re also behind roastery and cafe chain Karma Kava in their hometown of Ternopil, Ukraine, and they weren’t sure if U.S. caffeine aficionados would embrace their approach.

Booming business: Whatever fears the couple harbored were put to rest almost immediately after the doors swung open at 2275 N. Lincoln Avenue. “We learned about long lines in Ukraine, but that’s nothing like here,” says Artur Yuzvik. “It was crazy — six or seven hours of a nonstop line.”

Tastes of home: Ukrainian Americans have visited the cafe from Wisconsin, Connecticut and New York, with some “driving for five or six hours to refresh their memories of home [in Ukraine],” Artur Yuzvik says. One woman drove to Lincoln Park from Pennsylvania to get her hands on a Dotyk dripper, a sculptural ceramic brewing device sold at the cafe that’s made with clay from the city of Slovyansk in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, an area decimated by Russian military action.

Key context: The Chicago area is home to the second-largest Ukrainian American population in the U.S., with 54,000 people identifying as having Ukrainian ancestry. The community has been in Chicago for more than a century, and recently a fresh crop of Ukrainian American chefs has brought new attention to the country’s cuisine at spots like Anelya in Avondale and Pierogi Kitchen in Bucktown.

What’s next: The enormity of the response from customers has prompted the Yuzviks to accelerate their expansion. They plan to soon sign a lease for a second location but aren’t ready to announce the address or neighborhood, divulging only that it will be near the original. They also say that it will be an all-day affair that transitions from morning to evening and will feature a large selection of sweets.

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WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file

• Gerald Reed faces retrial: Three years after Gov. J.B. Pritzker commuted his sentence for a 1990 double murder, Reed is scheduled to go on trial April 15. According to his attorney, Reed can’t be sentenced to prison even if he’s convicted again of the murders.
• State’s attorney race update: One full week after the polls closed, the Democratic primary for Cook County state’s attorney remains unresolved. Eileen O’Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III are still separated by a razor-thin margin.
• Jussie Smollett appeal OK’d: The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from actor Jussie Smollett after an appellate court upheld his conviction for lying to police about being the victim of a hate crime.
• Logan Square Farmers Market moves: You’ll find the buzzing Sunday market a couple blocks south of its usual spot this year when it opens May 12. That’s due to a major construction project around Centennial Monument.
• Hold the ketchup: With their Opening Day set to start Thursday, White Sox players were in the Loop Wednesday morning to drum up some excitement by handing out hot dogs.

SUN-TIMES SUGGESTS 📚

Find your next read at Myopic Books

Ben Pope/Sun-Times

After coming through with a fantastic restaurant suggestion in September, my colleague Ben Pope, our Blackhawks beat reporter here, is back.

This week, Ben suggests stopping by used bookstore Myopic Books on the Northwest side

“Myopic Books — on Milwaukee Ave. in the middle of Wicker Park — feels simultaneously classic and one-of-a-kind,” Ben tells me.

‘Organized chaos’: “I’m not typically an avid book reader, but I love the organized chaos of Myopic,” Ben says. “The selection of books and diversity of genres is unbelievable. I learn about a new genre I didn’t even know existed every time I take a look around. The website says there are over 60,000 books in the store.”

Trilevel paradise: “The 3½ stories of uneven, body-width hallways, random half-steps, 90-degree angles and other haphazard architectural irregularities are an attraction by themselves,” Ben says.

Basement bonus: “My favorite section is the mystery section, fittingly located in the slightly creepy basement,” Ben says. “I manage to end up with a new Agatha Christie or Raymond Chandler novel every time I visit.”

📍Myopic Books 1564 N. Milwaukee Ave.

BRIGHT ONE ✨

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

New Southland College Prep step team builds confidence, camaraderie as it honors historically Black sororities

Reporting by Cindy Hernandez

In only a few hours, 31 students at Southland College Prep will be stepping on stage to honor four historically Black sororities during Women’s History Month.

On Wednesday, the female students will be participating in “Step N’ Herstory,” a step performance representing the sororities — Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.

For several years, female students had asked their teachers and administrators about creating their own step team. The school already had a male student step team, the Kappa League.

Danielle Epson, English department chair and a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, approached Southland CEO Blondean Davis about putting a female team together and was given the green light.

In October, auditions were held for students who wished to be a part of the showcase. Students who made the team were able to choose which of the four sororities they wished to represent. Sorority members worked on teaching students how to step.

Kelly Barksdale, a junior, said that since joining the team she’s been able to build bonds with other female students while also learning more about what each sorority represents.

“We’ve gotten to make new friendships with people we wouldn’t normally talk to at school and get to know teachers a bit more outside of the classroom,” she said.

READ MORE

YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️

White Sox fans — what is one of your favorite Opening Day memories?

Email us (please include your first and last name). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!

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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers