Meet a husband and wife who turned a curiosity into a thriving business with Tasa Coffee Roasters, a hidden gem tucked away in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago.
Husband and wife owners Pierre and Jackie Marquez love to stir things up.
Pierre roasts the coffee. Jackie, who has a degree in culinary arts, is the chef; busy making authentic sandwiches and snacks from scratch.
“We decided to bring a little bit of my love of food and his love for roasting, and combine it,” she said.
Their love for coffee goes way back.
“My aunts, uncles, cousins, they’d come over to my mom’s house and gather around her dining room table, drinking cups of coffee,” Jackie said. “It’s just fond memories of our childhood.”
The idea to open a coffee business started percolating during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020, with one tiny roaster.
“We had a lot of time on our hands. One of the things that’s always united us, amongst other things, is coffee,” Pierre said. “We started looking into how is it roasted, and how maybe we can start roasting it.”
“We started giving it to our neighbors, family, friends and they were like, ‘What coffee is this?'” Jackie said. “I think that’s where the idea of , like, ‘Maybe we have something going here.’ Like, ‘You’re a good roaster, I can cook. You know, let’s make it happen.”
A $250,000 grant from the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund helped make it happen.
“We’re the kind of people that we’ve always earned everything, we’ve always worked hard for whatever we have. So, to be given a grant of that size, when we were relatively unknown, was such a big shock to us,” Pierre said. “I remember tearing up. I think I ended up crying.”
“He jokes a lot, so I didn’t believe him, and I was like, ‘Show me the email,'” Jackie said. “And we were both just in tears in our car, and overwhelmed.”
But that was just the start. They found a storefront at North and Kedvale that had been vacant for five years, but wasn’t quite ready for prime time.
Pierre admitted they didn’t know beans about construction.
“We came into a 2,500-square-foot space, and we’re looking around like, ‘We’re going to do somethng in here?’ It was little by little,” Pierre said. “I ended up being a project manager, which I didn’t realize how much work that tittle entailed.”
Meantime, Jackie got to work on the interiors the feel of the place.
“I had a vision of making it look like you’re in a latte. When you combine the espresso and the milk, you get this tan, creamy color,” she said.
That’s a hit with customers.
“The atmosphere is good, the colors are nice and neutral here. It is relaxing,” said customer B-Boy-B.
“I love it. It’s very cozy. The aesthetic is very welcoming. In here, I just kind of feel comfortable,” said customer Jaimie Frake.
Just what Jackie was looking for. Now, about the name.
“Tasa in Spanish means mug,” Jackie said. “For us, that cup means family, gathering, love, and ways to connect with our family and friends.”
Speaking of family, they always seem to be there. Jackie’s older sister, Faby, is the sous chef. Cousin Vere helps on the grill. Little sister Jasmin works the front. And Liz, who’s like family, is the manager.
“Eighty percent of the workers here are her family,” Pierre said.
“He’s stuck with us forever,” Jackie said.
The coffee, food, and culture are ingredients that create a cool vibe with lots of warmth and a sense of accomplishment.
“We’re proud to show that two first-generation Latinos were able to create a space by Latinos, and not just for Latinos, for everyone,” Pierre said.
Pierre, Jackie, and their son Pierre Jr. also believe in giving back to the community. They regularly take part in neighborhood cleanup campaigns, and Pierre loves to help people who want to start a small business, just like he and Jackie did.
