Skip to content
Riot Fest Logo
Tickets
Search
  • RIOT FEST
    • 2023 Lineup
    • Tickets
    • Lockers
    • FAQ
    • Photos
  • Upcoming Shows
  • Newsletter
  • Magazine
    • Home
    • Playlists
    • New Music
    • Concert Photos
    • Interviews
    • Comics
    • TV+Film
    • Staff Picks
  • Community
    • Community Involvement
    • Community Tickets
    • Neighborhood Guide
    • Street Team Sign Up
  • Merch
  • Search
Community Spotlight: Beelove Cafe

Community Spotlight: Beelove Cafe

September 12, 2022 (September 12, 2022) // Bailey Davis

Our Community Spotlights feature all the wonderful food, nightlife, and local businesses found within Douglass Park, home to Riot Fest. Join us throughout the year as the Riot Fest staff recommends their favorite spots in the neighborhood on a continuing basis—in hopes that you’ll make a stop in Douglass Park before, during, and well after the fest concludes.

For most of us, a reliable spot to grab a coffee and a pastry in the morning on the way to work—or a place to post up with a laptop for an afternoon if you’re on the work-from-home wave—is an essential feature in a neighborhood. The Beelove Cafe is that spot for its corner of North Lawndale, situated between Douglass Park and Garfield Park. The brand-new coffee spot offers locals a generous menu of drinks, as well as a generous menu of breakfast and lunch items, and a serene, light-filled space to kick back and relax or zone in on work, depending on the mood.

PASTRY OPTIONS FROM THE BEELOVE’S MENU. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BEELOVE CAFE)

Built into an imposing brick building that formerly housed the Community Bank of Lawndale (the area’s first Black-owned bank), and featuring a modernist all-glass facade, the Beelove Cafe brings a splash of high-end design to its stretch of Homan Ave., and adds to the neighborhood’s history of notable architecture. Inside the airy space—featuring hexagonal light fixtures to underline the bee-themed decor—employees serve up a range of drinks from a generous menu ranging from drip coffee to strawberry matcha, frozen mochas, and the cafe’s trademark “Sweet Brew” cold brew coffee. On the food side, there are breakfast sandwiches with a variety of fillings, soups, wraps, and baked goods supplied by Trini’s Tasty Pastries, but the rave reviews go to the cafe’s beelove honey butter biscuit, which highlights the Southern roots shared by many Black Chicagoans, and features honey butter made with locally produced honey (which you can also buy at the cafe’s shopping area).

Not only is Beelove giving the neighborhood its morning caffeine boost, along with some tasty treats, it’s also helping to sustain the neighborhood in other ways. Beelove is part of the North Lawndale Employment Network, which for the past 20 years has been creating jobs in the formerly industrial area, which like many parts of the city suffered severely when local industries relocated or shut down. Not only does NLEM employ the staff at the Beelove Cafe, but also Sweet Beginnings—located in the same building—where community members who’ve been impacted by the justice system package honey and honey-based products, earning job skills and financial literacy along the way.

While the Beelove Cafe doesn’t stay open past 4:00 p.m., it’s the perfect first stop for a caffeine run to fuel your Riot Fest weekend—or any of your plans, really. Check out their hours and menu (via their website) below.

THE BEELOVE CAFE
1111 S Homan Ave
Chicago, IL 60624
(773) 265-7945

WEBSITE + MENU

HOURS

Monday: 7AM–4PM
Tuesday: 7AM–4PM
Wednesday: 7AM–4PM
Thursday: 7AM–4PM
Friday: 7AM–4PM
Saturday: 8AM–2PM
Sunday: CLOSED


The Related Rabbit Hole

Riot Fest Community Spotlight: Mariscos La Playa Riot Fest Community Spotlight: Working Bikes We’re Hiring! Sign Up at Riot Fest’s 2021 Community Job Fairs
About The Author
Bailey Davis

Posted in Community, Food + DrinkTagged Community, Community Spotlight, Douglass Park, Food+Drink, North Lawndale

Post navigation

  Previous PostNext Post 
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • TikTok
  • Mail
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
Riot Fest Tickets
Upcoming Shows Playlist
Riot Fest Presents Shows
May. 28, 2023
Cobra Lounge
Subhumans

Subhumans

Cop/Out

Canal Irreal

Low Tickets(Opens in new window).
Subhumans
Jun. 2, 2023
Bottom Lounge
Nekrogoblikon

Nekrogoblikon

Inferi

AETHER REALM

Hunt The Dinosaur

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Nekrogoblikon
Jun. 2, 2023
Chop Shop
VIOLENT J

VIOLENT J

Ouija Macc

Esham

Tickets(Opens in new window).
VIOLENT J
Jun. 3, 2023
Concord Music Hall
Haken

Haken

Arch Echo

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Haken
Jun. 9, 2023
House of Blues
Thrice

Thrice

Holy Fawn

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Thrice
Jun. 10, 2023
Bottom Lounge
Peyton Parrish

Peyton Parrish

Mr. Lugosi

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Peyton Parrish

MORE SHOWS

Greatest Hits

  • Foundation
  • Riot Pop!!
  • History
  • Contact
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
Du-Mango 95 Flavor Riot Pop!!
Cherry On!! Flavor Riot Pop!!
Riot Pop!! Logo

It's got electrolytes!

Get on wait list
InstagramTwitterYouTubeTikTokFacebook

Copyright © 2023 Riot Fest Corporation. Privacy Policy.

Search for:

Send me emails so I don’t have to go to your website to look for shows.

"*" indicates required fields

Name
Email me about
Music I like
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Riot Fest 2023 3-day tickets on sale now! Payment plans available and single day tickets on sale soon!
Tickets
This is default text for notification bar
Learn more