Kusanya Cafe — Restaurant in Lake Township

An authentic community cafe. You can't get this from Starbucks. Tile floors, rustic wood for the counter work area, brick walls, and nice approachable and sustainable aesthetic. This is the type of place that comes to mind when I need to get out of the house and find a place to be productive.

Haven't asked her name, but the young woman with the afro.......I witnessed several customers come in and she greeted them very personably, warmly and authentically. She had some good conversations and interactions with all of them. I saw and overheard the other woman working doing the same. Customers felt comfortable here.

(Apologies again for not including the names of the employees, but for reference to management/ownership that may be reading this, this is the morning of 5.3.23)

I'm an avid cafe goer, and love finding a place to call my workplace away from work. This is one of those places. Today I only had tea when I came in since it was my first time, an earl gray. However, it was loose leaf, a good amount of tea and the honey wasn't too much. I loved it.

Once you're inside, you'd forget that you were in the Englewood you see outside. Yet inside, is a glimpse of what the community of Englewood is turning into. A safe space for meetings, collaborations, serendipitous interactions, creative thinking, productive planning and...

WARNING: make sure you grab the correct drink, you won’t know by the cup because they don’t label them, they rely 100% on calling out the drink and trusting that you grabbed the correct one, if you grab the wrong coffee, they will not make you the correct one

I walked into this place wanting to try and enjoy it, I ordered an Iced Latte, i’m told I accidentally grabbed the “honey oatmilk latte”…it’s nearly pure sugar water, not drinkable

So, I called it in hoping they could make me my ordered Iced Latte (no sugar, classic just milk and espresso) but they said I would “need to buy another one” and that they clearly called out “honey milk latte” so they asserted I grabbed the wrong drink…their word vs mine…

I think this is a customer service fail since making a new coffee costs pennies on the dollar and the milk cost is like $0.50..I told them “I accept responsibility for not hearing the appropriate name of the drink” but this is the first time ever a coffee shop has failed to remake a drink…they don’t even give me the benefit of the doubt that I really did not hear the name of the drink called out…conversely they didn’t assert that they too accept responsibility for not speaking loud enough the “Iced Latte” vs “Honey Milk Latte” + there’s no labels on the drinks!

Customer service fail...

We are inundated constantly with negative stories and images creating a cesspool of defeat and apathy that impacts our interactions with one another as well as the world. It's always exciting and uplifting to find people and places, especially close to where you reside, bringing an alternative to what many have excepted as the norm. This is one place: A non-profit Coffee House named Kusanya right in the heart of Englewood, known to the world as once the murder capital of Chicago (that title has now been handed to Austin, a community on the west side of town). It's cool upbeat progressive rustic chill vibe is welcomed in an area that has steadily over the last decade fallen into major decay. It's community owned and operated and offers a safe haven for many in the community who would like a place closer to home to interact with like minded people. We need more places like this in the communities to take over and "Change...