The Perfect Cup
- April 2004Many coffee shops aspire to be the kind of cozy, comfortable place you want to be when you're away from home. But few achieve this atmosphere as well as The Perfect Cup on the corner of Damen and Leland, just steps from the Damen Brown Line station. Owner Anne Nuqui Merritt has created a laid-back place where people come to read, meet a friend or client, work on a project and of course—enjoy a great cup of coffee.
The cafe is a bright, airy space with a mix of tables, comfy couches and armchairs you can sink into if you plan to stay a while. Soft music plays in the background. A few houseplants add a touch of greenery. Neat stacks of books fill several shelves, and a nearby coffee table holds magazines with something to interest just about everyone. "The books and magazines are donated by our customers," says Anne. "We let people take home what they're reading if they want. It's become sort of a book exchange." During the morning rush, people stream in and out, but you'll always find customers sitting in the shop throughout the day. You'll also notice a conspicuous lack of smoke—The Perfect Cup is completely non-smoking, although smokers are accommodated outside on the patio in the warmer months.
The Perfect Cup is a true community space that's welcoming and inviting. The walls are covered with art from three local artists, who are a mix of professionals and those who pursue art as a hobby. "A lot of artists sell their work here," explains Anne. "We've sold two pieces already from this show. I don't take any of the proceeds and I don't charge artists to hang their work. It's an excellent opportunity to do a first time showing." Posters also announce every type of performance or play going on in the area. There's a bulletin board in the back filled with requests for babysitters, advertisements for apartments and ads from freelancers. When her window couldn't hold all the posters, Anne added a second bulletin board. "A lot of our customers are artists, actors and musicians," she explains. "Whenever they have something going on, I like to do what I can to help promote them."
A big part of the atmosphere at The Perfect Cup comes from the relationships that Anne and her employees build with their customers. Whether you're a first time customer or you've been getting your coffee there since they opened, the service is genuinely friendly and not forced. "Everyone who works here always tries to maintain a homey atmosphere," says Anne. "We know our customers by name, we know their orders and we know their kids' names. They are our neighbors and friends."
The Perfect Cup began as an idea that came to Anne while observing the neighborhood back in 1997. As someone who had grown up here and gone to school at Our Lady of Lourdes, she knew and loved the area but recognized its potential for supporting new businesses. "I watched all the people getting on the train each morning and thought, what a great idea it would be for people to be able to get their coffee before they get to work," recalls Anne. At the time, she worked downtown at an attorney's office. Every day she would wait in long lines when she got downtown to get a cup of coffee and thought to herself that there should be a better way. Anne started to do research on what it would take to open her own business. In the fall of 1997, everything fell into place. A storefront opened up at the corner of Damen and Leland when Center Row Antiques moved out. Anne realized this would be an ideal location to serve morning commuters— right by the Damen "L" stop and not too far from the Metra station on Ravenswood. So she took the plunge and went into business for herself.
For the first three years, Anne was the sole employee at The Perfect Cup, which meant lots of long hours. "I worked 14 hours a day, seven days a week," recalls Anne. "I wanted to be open for people in the morning and through the night. I felt that I had to give people the chance to check us out." Gradually, curious neighbors in the area started coming in to The Perfect Cup to see what it was all about. "At first, a lot of people didn't know the name and called it 'Anne's place,'" laughs Anne. Through the years, she has met thousands of customers and has struck up friendships with many of them. Anne even met her husband, Robert, through the cafe. "He was a regular here," says Anne. "He used to come in before he got on the train to go to work." Loyalty runs deep with her customers. Many people make it a point to visit regularly even after they have moved away from the neighborhood. After her third year in business, Anne finally hired her first employee when she was pregnant with her son, Kielland. Since then, she's helped keep the cafe's atmosphere by hiring people who really understand her vision.
Seven years later, business is booming. The Perfect Cup draws everyone from commuters for their morning caffeine fix, to condo association meetings, evening study groups and grad students working on their dissertations. Just recently, she learned that the North Side Parents Network chose The Perfect Cup as the location for its 60625 social. As a reflection of the changes in the workforce, Anne sees a lot of freelancers who work from home setting up their client meetings at the cafe.
Wireless access to the Internet is another reason why so many people find The Perfect Cup a good place to get some work done. The entire cafe is a WiFi hotspot that offers wireless service for both Macs and PCs through Hotpoint Wireless, a local company with about a dozen or so other hotspots in Chicago. "The owners are actually acquaintances of mine from years ago," says Anne. "It's a great independent service." People who are interested in using the service should visit www.hotpointwireless.com for more information about subscribing. It's a simple and inexpensive process that starts at about $2.95 for 20 minutes of surfing time.
Regardless of all the extra features at The Perfect Cup, coffee has always been its true focus. Anne is a self-professed coffee lover who is very particular about the blends she sells. The "Anne Special" is a testament to her love for caffeine: it features American coffee with a shot of espresso, a shot of chocolate and half and half. Currently, she offers an espresso imported from Italy and blends from Caffè Umbria, an independent coffee roaster founded by a master roaster from Italy. Coffee is also available by the pound to take home and brew yourself. Even if you don't drink coffee, Anne still has plenty of beverages to enjoy. She offers a range of regular and herbal caffeine free teas from Numi, and she's planning to expand into more types of tea. She will soon offer Bubble Teas, as well as a selection of cakes and tortes in response to customer requests. Through the years, Anne has added items her customers have asked for like soy milk, as well as soups and a selection of meat and vegetarian sandwiches. "We have people who come in and work for hours who have asked that we offer a little something to eat so they don't have to leave," says Anne. The Perfect Cup also offers items that complement hot beverages, including muffins, scones and croissants from Little Miss Muffin. A brother-sister team located at Irving and Rockwell are responsible for these delicious treats. Other complementary items like cookies and biscotti, energy bars, fruit, juice and mints are also available. "We've grown by starting small," says Anne. "Coffee was what we always wanted to do, so we started by doing that well and then have added the other things gradually."
Not only has The Perfect Cup become a popular neighborhood destination, it's getting media attention, too. The cafe was featured on the Food Network, which filmed a segment on Little Miss Muffin there for its Food Finds show. "We had a knitting group that used to meet here for about three years, and Wild Chicago came here to film them," says Anne. The cafe will also be featured on a daytime show on NBC 5 on Friday, April 30th, 2004. The business is growing like crazy, but Anne always credits her customers for her success. "We're doing so well because of the neighborhood. The kind of neighbors we have here really responded to what I was trying to create," says Anne. "Both the neighbors and the other businesses in the area have been so supportive."
If you're not already a regular at The Perfect Cup, visit the next time you need to start your day with a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Or make sure that it's the next place you meet your clients, friends or date.
The Perfect Cup
4700 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
773.989.4177
www.theperfectcup.net
Hours:
Monday through Friday 6:30am - 9:00pm
Saturday 7:30am - 9:00pm
Sunday 7:30am - 7:00pm
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