New Elmhurst Coffee Shop Offers Caffeine with a Shot of Community

Photo: Melissa Villanueva, owner of Brewpoint Coffee, makes a signature latte at the W Park Avenue shop.

Elmhurst’s newest coffee shop started three months ago as a Craigslist search for an espresso machine.

But the three-year business plan of a Wheaton College graduate landed on an accelerated timeline, and Brewpoint Coffee is hosting its grand opening today (Monday).

The initial step of searching for an espresso machine led Melissa Villanueva to the West Park Avenue shop, which was listed on the popular classified ads website. With the help of her boyfriend, her best friend and Brewpoint’s signature bartolomane coffee, Villanueva is looking to help Elmhurst grow its community relationships.

“Things have come together so fluidly and so well, it’s hard not to believe that something good is happening,” she said.

Villanueva has been working on the details of a monthly membership plan that would satisfy customers’ daily coffee needs and gather ideas for using Brewpoint as a community space for events such as movie nights, trivia or an open mic.

For its grand opening, Brewpoint is offering 20 percent off signature lattes, samples of pastries and a deal through the month of September for $1 small coffees.

Villanueva hopes to give people “a buffer on their risk” of trying something new, and she emphasized the shop is gluten-free friendly. She highly recommends the Bartolomè coffee, which is a coconut, almond-based coffee sweetened with honey and served with cinnamon on top.

“The whole focus is on the experience of the customer,” she said. “Our name is Brewpoint Coffee, and our tagline is ‘Expand your brew.’ We hope to expand people’s viewpoints beyond their natural exposure.”

The next steps include hiring employees, expanding hours to satisfy customer needs and finalizing the membership plans.

Villanueva, a native of Palatine, called Elmhurst “the perfect blend of city and suburbs.” She said she was surprised how perfect Elmhurst has been for her business, and she’s enjoyed getting to know its residents.

Angelo Sepúlveda is Brewpoint’s barista, Villanueva’s boyfriend and one third of her team in this business. He studied graphic design and created the shop’s logo.

Sepúlveda said he was daunted by the opportunities and challenges that came with opening the coffee shop, but he trusted Villanueva’s business instincts and made the decision to “ride the wave” with her.

“She has a wonderful heart for getting to know people, connecting and being warm in a natural way,” he said. “In providing a product, meeting people and providing a community space, she’s very good at that and I’m happy to support her in the ways that I can.”

Jeannette Kaye is the other member of Brewpoint’s triad. She’s Villanueva’s best friend, and she has a background in pastries and restaurants.

“When you’re in school, a teacher will have you do projects to encourage you not to do stuff like that [open a coffee shop.],” Kaye said. “Expense wise, every project was as hard as possible. But everything here has really come together on it’s own.”

Elmhurst residents might remember the location of Brewpoint, near the Metra stop, had been two previous coffee shops in the past four years. Villanueva said she’s made marketing efforts to avoid the mistakes of the shop’s previous incarnations.

“We can go beyond,” she said. “Even if we didn’t market, I think we’d get people in because our coffee is good and our ambiance is great.”

The team hopes work with other small businesses in Elmhurst to grow community relationships and promote local fare, while offering meeting space and events.

“This is a tight community of people who care about one another,” Villanueva said. “This coffee shop jives well with Elmhurst, and it is something that can help the community flourish.”

Brewpoint Coffee is located at 124 W Park Avenue, and its business hours are Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Left: Jeannette Kaye, middle: Melissa Villanueva, right: Angelo Sepúlveda of Brewpoint Coffee
Photos by Morgan Searles