PILSEN — The longtime owner of a popular Pilsen coffeehouse has opened a second location at the Damen Pink Line stop in Pilsen.
Eleazar Delgado, who has owned the Café Jumping Bean on 18th Street for nearly 23 years, opened the new cafe, called L' Cafecito Jumping Bean, on Friday at Damen Avenue and Cullerton Street.
With plans to open a second coffee shop for years, Delgado said he was driving down Damen one day when he noticed the retail space underneath the "L" platform was suddenly vacant. He knew the location — within blocks of Harrison Park, the National Museum of Mexican Art, El Valor and Orozco Community Academy — would make a great spot for a new coffee shop, he said.
"Something just clicked. And I said, 'You know what? This location is a great spot for a café,'" Delgado remembered. "The last thing I wanted to see here is another Dunkin' Donuts."
Longtime Café Jumping Bean owner Eleazar Delgado opened L' Cafecito Jumping Bean at the Damen Pink Line stop last week. [DNAinfo/Chloe Riley; Facebook/Café Jumping Bean]
Delgado, a 49-year-old McKinley Park resident, bid to lease the Chicago Transit Authority-owned space in January and the Transit Authority first announced he was awarded a 10-year lease in May. After a "slow process," the CTA finally cleared L' Cafecito Jumping Bean to open earlier this month. Nine employees were hired to work at the new coffee shop.
After the long wait, unwrapping the windows on the cafe to open on Black Friday was like "unwrapping a big present," Delgado said. The entire crew from the 18th Street coffeehouse came by to celebrate the new Jumping Bean.
"It looked so cool from the outside ... like an old school diner with the simple neon" sign, he said.
L' Cafecito Jumping Bean serves up a variety of hot and cold coffee-based drinks ($1.50-$4.25), teas ($1.75-$3.25), Mexican hot chocolate ($2.75-$3.25), baked goods, sandwiches and soups. The shop's lunch special features half a sandwich and a cup of soup for $4.95.
In the summer, Delgado plans to transform the outdoor area next to the coffee shop into a plaza with outdoor seating for the entire neighborhood to enjoy.
L' Cafecito Jumping Bean is open 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
L' Cafecito Jumping Bean is now open at the Damen Pink Line stop in Pilsen. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]
L' Cafecito Jumping Bean is now open at the at the Damen Pink Line stop in Pilsen. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]
After working at Bloomingdale's for nearly a decade, Delgado opened Café Jumping Bean in 1994. Located at 1439 W. 18th St., the indie café will celebrate its 23rd anniversary on Jan. 3rd.
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