Build Coffee and Books — Restaurant in Hyde Park Township

My first impressions of this coffee shop were good ones. Located on the corner of a dead end street, parking can be limited; however, Build Coffee neighbors Blackstone Bicycle Works, a youth-focused vocational program and bike shop, that offers additional vibrancy to the space and a feeling of being included in something esoteric. Additionally, Build Coffee is part of the Experimental Station, which works to "build independent cultural infrastructure on the South Side of Chicago," and bills Build Coffee as a "hub of great coffee and radical collaboration." For all of these reasons, and because I am native to the South Side of Chicago and live within a mile of Build Coffee, I decided to venture over to the shop as an alternative to working from my home office. Upon entering, I found the place to be warm in color and temperature. The smell of coffee and something buttery was inviting as I perused the collections of records, art, and a few books. Then I found my seat near the barista and set up my work station. With a fully charged computer battery, I had planned to be there until closing time, but I could not settle in because the music was too loud. After the second Ne-Yo song blared from the speakers, I looked around at the other customers, most of whom seemed just as agitated with the volume as I was feeling. When I asked the baristas if it is usually so loud in the cafe and to turn the music down, I was informed that "sometimes it is loud" and the volume was turned down a notch. I sat down and resumed working, only to realize when the next song began to play (Ne-Yo again--what the hell?), that the volume had been turned back up. As I gathered my things to leave, I heard the barista say to another, "Like, have you never been to a coffee shop before?" I left without purchasing anything or getting any of the work done that I had come there to accomplish. What should have been a pleasant experience was turned sour by the self-serving behaviors of the staff who'd rather have a midday coffee shop Ne-yo tribute than provide even a reasonably accommodating working space for the creatives its marketed to serve.

(This is the record of my experience on 1/22/2020...

Good food, OK coffee, gross vibes. I've been here 4 times. Only once was a normal experience. The other times, the fridge was broken (no food), the cashier oozed hostility (my greeting was returned with a silent eye roll). Service is always painfully slow.

But today was epic. I entered at 1:45. I let 2 distracted students cut me in line, who then ordered food. As usual, everything ran very slow. At 1:52, I finally stepped up. The cook had just yelled at the cashier that last call was at 1:45 (when I was there, waiting). But their sign says that food is available until 2. So, of course, I tried to order food. Oops!

Sorry, I was told, food is over.

I protested, politely but firmly: 1:52 PM is not 2 PM. You should be more clear about last call. Besides, I've been here since last call, and let these two people order ahead of me -- now they're eating and I'm not??

Instead of a polite apology and a sandwich, I was treated to a rare opportunity to play amateur psychologist for the cook, who ran up to share with me how hard his day had been (a.k.a., he had been working), and concluded that I must have never worked in the service industry before (false) because I thought this was all ridiculous (true).

Meanwhile, he very aggressively insisted on making me a sandwich, multiple times, while I politely declined and tried to be empathic as he unloaded a truckload of personal stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with what I'd been complaining about.

End of story. You...

Stopped by with some friends while exploring the farmers market on Saturday. They had a long line trailing up to the ordering window, but it moved quite quickly.

The service was very friendly and pleasant and my coffee came out quickly after I ordered it, so no complaints there. Their menu of breakfast sandwiches and pastries looked enticing. My friend who ordered a sandwich enjoyed it.

I tried an iced cafe de olla, which had brown sugar, orange peel, and some other spices. It was a beautiful looking drink, but I suspect just not really for me. I prefer sweeter drinks and this one just wasn't sweet at all. It seemed like it would be the sweetest one on the menu based on the ingredients, but I only drank a couple of sips because it was super super bitter.

I'm guessing this place is for more serious coffee drinkers than yours truly, so try it out as my more-bitter-coffee preferring friends all loved the...