Two Mile Coffee Bar Opens Inside 95th Street Train Station

CHICAGO - Neighborhood residents have yet another option for a good cup of coffee after the opening of the Two Mile Coffee Bar inside the 95th Street Metra station in Beverly. The name of the new shop is a nod to the strong connection the neighborhood has with its train stations, of which there is one located every four blocks on the Rock Island Line between 91st and 115th streets.

"These stations, along with the train line that brings many of us downtown everyday, are a huge part of the culture of our neighborhood," said Nate Hollister, creator of Two Mile Coffee Bar.

"Unfortunately, they are largely unused and neglected. We hope that by inhabiting and activating the 95th street station we can enhance the commute for many of our neighbors - and create a destination from something that was previously underused."

Hollister said the 95th Street station was the "natural" place to have the coffee bar since it already had a small kiosk in the space.

"95th Street has no other neighborhood coffee shops near it - meaning that many commuters have no opportunity to get a quality coffee this side of downtown," he added.

Scroll through the images at the top of this article for more scenes from Two Mile's grand opening

Hollister and his wife Sonia partnered with Gretta and Patrick Dertinger on bringing the shop that opened over Easter weekend to the neighborhood. A Kickstarter campaign that launched last October with hopes of bringing the coffee bar to the train station raised more than $11,000 to jump start the project.

Gretta has years of experience as a barista and specialty coffee shop manager. Here she will serve Intelligentsia coffee and Kilogram tea "to bring a really fantastic product to the South Side."

"We offer high-quality coffee/tea coupled with genuinely friendly customer service, in a unique, beautiful setting," she said.

Two Mile Coffee Bar is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. It's already becoming a hit with commuters.

We've been really excited about the support we have received so far," Hollister said. "The Metra commuters are thrilled to have a change to buy coffee and tea, and many non-commuters are making us their destination for coffee/tea in the morning."