Big Shoulders Coffee grew out of a garage. Tim Coonan began as a chef in restaurants in New York, France, Italy and Chicago, travelled to coffee-growing regions and studied roasting from the 1980s, and his hobby of roasting beans at home became a Chicago roasting facility and a group of cafés. He co-founded the company with Patricia Coonan, its CEO and owner, who brings more than thirty years in hospitality and restaurants, including a decade as CFO of a restaurant management firm. The company is woman-owned, and its promise is “fresh roasted, no-nonsense artisan coffee”.

The beans come from farmers Big Shoulders has built relationships with and are roasted to bring out their sweetness and character, exclusively on Loring Smart Roasters, which recirculate hot air instead of venting it through an afterburner. The range runs from blends such as 1848, Lake Street Espresso and Night Shift to single origins from Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Myanmar, plus El Carmelo Reserve, a monthly drop from a young farmer experimenting with new processing. Big Shoulders roaster Diego Guartan was crowned 2025 US Coffee Roasting Champion, and in 2019 Food & Wine named Big Shoulders its pick for Illinois.

Each café is designed as a “third place”, somewhere separate from home and work, and coffee is brewed with “down-to-the-second precision”. There are eight in Chicago: Lincoln Park, West Town, the Gold Coast, Little Italy, three in the Loop including one inside the Chicago Board of Trade, and one at Midway Airport’s Terminal A. Big Shoulders also hosts the Chicago Roasters Workshop, a roasting competition between local roasters, and supports The Night Ministry, Farmers Project in Costa Rica and Working Bikes, among others. Tim Coonan writes the company blog, on coffee certification, importers and giving something back.

Locations

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  1. Lincoln Park1165 W. Diversey Pkwy, Chicago, IL 60614Lincoln ParkOpen in Google Maps
  2. West Town1105 W. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60642West TownOpen in Google Maps
  3. Gold Coast858 N. State St, Chicago, IL 60612Gold CoastOpen in Google Maps
  4. The Loop213 W. Lake St, Chicago, IL 60606The LoopOpen in Google Maps
  5. Little Italy1434 W Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60607Little ItalyOpen in Google Maps
  6. CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade)141 W. Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604The LoopOpen in Google Maps
  7. Wacker311 S. Wacker, Chicago, IL 60606The LoopOpen in Google Maps
  8. Midway Airport, Terminal A5700 S. Cicero Ave, Chicago, IL 60638Midway International AirportOpen in Google Maps

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Big Shoulders Coffee