HUMBOLDT PARK — Merhawit Keleta was on her mother's back in 1985 while she trekked across Eritrea to escape civil war.
She was just 5 years old at the time in the East African country, but those memories still drive Keleta's will to succeed.
In January, the 33-year-old mother of three opened her first business, a coffee and doughnut shop in Humboldt Park.
Keleta also manages a Fogo de Chao restaurant in Rosemont.
Keleta's oldest child is 2½ and her twins just turned 1.
"I always just go back to my mom and know that if she was able to do what she did, then it's nothing for me," Keleta said. "It’s a day at a time. Get up in the morning and do what you need to do. You push."
The inspiration to open Donut Delight also came from Keleta's mother, Abrehet, who had her own coffee shop in San Francisco, where she moved as a refugee in the early 1990s.
Keleta grew up in that coffee shop, and especially remembers the smell of the coffee brewing in both her home and the shop. It still reminds her of her childhood in Africa.
"The smell of it," Keleta said when asked about her coffee-related memories in Eritrea. "My family wakes up and roasts coffee right away."
Like a ritual, they drink coffee together each morning, again at noon and a third time in the afternoon.
"It's big," Keleta said.
The original plan for the newly opened Donut Delight coffee shop was to brew traditional Eritrean coffee in a traditional sit-down setting, but Keleta and her mother decided it would be best to take a more traditional, American-style coffee shop approach.
Keleta's mother was unable to make the grand opening last month, but is visiting town this weekend to see the shop for the first time.
The coffee and doughnut shop, 1750 N. California Ave., has been a hit among those who have found it so far, across the street from Moos Elementary School and a few steps from the 606.
The shop bakes its doughnuts daily and has a rotating selection, including traditional glazed, glazed buttermilk, chocolate, strawberry, apple fritter, jelly, powdered, caramel and toasted coconut.
Donut Delight also serves cake slices and brews Metropolis Coffee.
Asked how she juggles managing the restaurant in Rosemont, starting a business in Chicago and taking care of three children under the age of 3, Keleta flashed an even wider smile than she had been through the entire interview sitting in her new shop.
She said she faced similar questions when she was promoted into a management position at the other restaurant.
"I'm like, 'You know what? I'm going to show you.' Having a kid doesn’t hinder me in any way. It’s not going to stop me. I’m still going to be focused and I'm going to get the job done," Keleta said. "Now I’m growing. It’s like see — look at me now.”
For those interested in the traditional Eritrean coffee ritual, watch the video below
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