Bow Truss Bringing Java Jolt to Old Irving Park, Roscoe Village

OLD IRVING PARK — How many minutes does it take you to walk to the local coffee shop for your morning java jolt?

Five minutes? Ten?

That's five or 10 minutes too many, according to Phil Tadros, founder of Bow Truss Coffee Roasters.

"If it's a daily ritual, you should have a coffee shop even closer," he said.

Tadros is doing his part to cut down on people's coffee commutes, announcing plans to double the number of Bow Truss outposts, to 12 total, in short order.

The "coming soon" locations include 4185 W. Irving Park Road (part of Centrum's Irving-Avondale-Keeler development), 2004 W. Roscoe St. (between Volo and Glam To Go), and Lincoln and Paulina (a new transit-oriented development).

"They're all great neighborhoods, they're all great locations," Tadros said.

Taking note of the bustling foot traffic around Old Irving Park's Metra and CTA stations, and the constant flow of customers in and out of the area Starbucks, Tadros said, "It makes sense to give [people] more options for better coffee."

His goal is to have the shop up and brewing within six months, but the timing ultimately is dependent on completion of the overall development.

"There are so many variables," Tadros said. "The ball's not in my court."

The cafe at Roscoe and Damen should come online sooner, potentially by the end of the year, he said.

Given the number of young families in the area, Tadros has a few tricks up his sleeve to make the Roscoe Village shop particularly kid-friendly.

"We're going to figure out some fun stuff to do there," he said. "We thought about a separate washroom with a small toilet and sink. We're probably going to do that."

Each shop, like existing Bow Truss cafes, will have its own identity, dictated in part by their confines.

"We figure out what bones we have to work with," Tadros said. "We don't overplan, we're winging it."

One thing all Bow Truss shops will have in common: pastries and other edibles supplied by Bunny, the micro bakery, Tadros' other coming-soon venture with Elizabeth chef Iliana Regan.

"She's such a star," Tadros said of Regan. "We're so lucky to work with her."

Bow Truss' recent growth spurt can be credited to the company's overt call for investors — there's an "invest" tab on the Bow Truss website.

"Just being open like that — 'We want to grow' — it's really helping us," Tadros said. "We raised over a million dollars the last month."

Truth be told, Tadros is also a store-opening junkie.

Gutting a building, renovating it, seeing it occupied with people getting all warm and cozy with their coffee, for Tadros, that's better than any caffeine fix.

"I love opening shops, I just love it," he said. "If someone let me open 100, I would."

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