'Best Coffee Shop In Illinois,' Social Butterfly's 1-Year Anniversary Offers Joliet Block Party Festival

JOLIET, IL — What kind of memorable impact has downtown Joliet's Social Butterfly Coffee shop made during its first year of business? For starters, whenever world-famous Hollywood film star Bill Murray visits Joliet, as goodwill ambassador and part-owner of the Joliet Slammers, you can find him hanging out inside Social Butterfly. Murray has not just tried Social Butterfly once—he's made several visits.

That's not all. On May 27, the Joliet co-owners of Social Butterfly Coffee were invited to the windy city to appear on NBC Chicago’s top-rated daily lifestyle show "Chicago Today," with show host Matt Rodrigues. Social Butterfly's co-owners Samantha Bosi and Rosie Cardenas showcased their homemade sourdough sandwiches, organic syrups and talked about their rapidly approaching first birthday block party — which takes place this weekend.

On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Social Butterfly Coffee will shut down Crowley Avenue right outside their business.

Saturday's block party will feature DJ Velshay, DJ Chavez and DJ Cosmic for the daylong festivities. The eight-hour-long event includes birthday menu releases, at least 17 local vendors, activities and live art, puppies up for adoption, prize raffles and giveaways and live music all day.

The street vendors will include Audiophils, Prison City Vintage, Black Cat Curiosities, Matt Buko Studio, MG Jewelry, Seapeak Style, Rejuvenate Plants & Wellness and more.

People are encouraged to use the large Will County Government Office parking lot on North Chicago Street. Parking in downtown Joliet is also free on weekends.

For many years, downtown Joliet had a reputation of being dead on the weekends because hardly any businesses stayed open on Saturdays and Sundays. But Social Butterfly has quickly established itself as the downtown's premier stop on the weekends.

"Saturday and Sunday are definitely our busiest days, so we are grateful to have people coming downtown," Bosi remarked.

"The lines, seriously, can be out the door," Cardenas pointed out. "Some weekends the line is out the door for four or five hours."

What are the most popular drinks on the menu?

"Any cold brews and cold foam combination," Bosi explained. "And our sourdough sandwiches sell like crazy. When we first opened, we did not open with a focus on food."

Since adding seven sourdough sandwiches to the regular menu, the most popular selections include the Golden Hour, Fresco Italiano, Sunrise Sausage, Garden Glow and the Spicy Social.

The address for Social Butterfly Coffee is 310 N. Ottawa St., now known as the 3TEN Building. Back in 2018, the Old Steelworkers Union Hall property was purchased and remodeled by Joliet businessman Cesar Cardenas, who now serves on the Joliet City Council.

The inside of Social Butterfly Coffee can accommodate around 75 people. There is plenty of seating, sofas, tables and chairs for people to relax, either by themselves or to strike up a conversation with someone else.

"The community has absolutely embraced us," Cardenas said when asked about the key to Social Butterfly's rapid success.

"They love the quality of the product and the customer service that the team gives," Bosi pointed out. "We make all our syrups and use homemade organic cane sugar."

Social Butterfly wanted everyone to know that "Caked Up," their new homemade organic cake batter syrup, will be released at Saturday's first birthday block party.

Joliet Patch asked Bosi to describe the atmosphere she and Cardenas are trying to project at Social Butterfly.

"Upbeat, positive, you can come in here every day, and people will be working, families will be here, friends are just hanging out. It's just such a mix," Bosi said. "We are that third space they have been looking for."

While Social Butterfly has plenty of young adults patronizing its establishment, Bosi and Cardenas said that people of all ages visit on a daily basis.

"I can say every age. Grandparents, mothers with babies to every age, gender and ethnicity," Bosi said.

The co-owners said that since they introduced the Benito Brew around the time of the Super Bowl, business has taken off.

"Since we did the Benito Brew and donated to the Southwest Immigrant Project, it's been a pretty steady uphill climb," Bosi explained.

And now, instead of Joliet area residents driving to Naperville or Chicago to enjoy an elegant coffeehouse, the owners of Social Butterfly said their downtown Joliet is bringing people from those very same cities into their building, often on the weekends.

"We are hearing from a lot of people who say I used to go to Chicago for coffee shops, and now people from Chicago come here, " Bosi said with a smile. "We're excited to see other people invest in downtown Joliet. We don't even have a sign on the building that says Social Butterfly. "

As for Saturday's eight-hour-long block party, visitors to the event will be able to enter a special drawing. One lucky winner will win free Social Butterfly Coffee for an entire year.

"I feel it's our way of giving back," Cardenas explained. "I feel a lot of the customers love the special drinks we do monthly."

Social Butterfly Coffee is open seven days a week. It's 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

If you have not tried it out yet, Social Butterfly Coffee is about a block away from the newly remodeled Bays Tower, the 13-story apartment building now owned by John Bays.

There is plenty of on-street parking along Ottawa and the surrounding streets, according to the coffee shop owners. The building for Social Butterfly consists of a shared workspace, featuring eight different small businesses.

"I feel like the demographics are so wide that everybody who comes in feels like they belong," Bosi said. "A lot of small businesses don't make it a year, so we would not be here if the community did not choose to support us, and we are extremely grateful for that."