Philz Coffee
The barista brews your cup to order off one of the house blends. The company roasts the beans in Oakland, California. This is the One Chicago store on Chicago Avenue, one of six doors the company runs in this metro.
Why go
Phil opened a convenience store in San Francisco's Mission District in 1978 and spent twenty-five years blending coffee behind the counter before the first Philz opened on 1 January 2003.3 The company builds its own blends from green beans it buys around the world and roasts them in Oakland, and it brews the cup when you order it rather than holding it in a pot.3 This door sits on Chicago Avenue at the base of One Chicago, and the company points out that Loyola is a short walk away.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: whatever blend the counter steers you toward. The blends are the product, and the barista brews each cup when you ask for it.3
- Avoid: coming here for a Chicago roaster. This is a California company and the roasting happens in Oakland.3
Good to know
- The other doors: Evanston, Hyde Park, Lincoln Park, Old Town, Wicker Park. This entry is about One Chicago and nothing on it transfers to the others.2
- Order ahead through the company's own link if you want to skip the line.1
- Hours: Sunday 6am to 5pm.1
Verdict
listed — Brewing every cup to order off a blend is a real method and it is the reason the company exists, but the beans come out of a roasting facility in Oakland and there is nothing about this door that a reader could not get at five other Philz in the same metro. No critic has published a word about the coffee here.