Gost Coffee Finds Home In New Lenox

NEW LENOX, IL — If you're looking for fresh coffee, a good place to find it is Gost Coffee in New Lenox. The store has found its home nestled near an industrial area and auto repair shops at 1333 S. Schoolhouse Road.

What makes Gost Coffee stand out, however, is that owner Daniel Bednarz doesn't just sell coffee, he also roasts it himself.

"[The coffee] comes from the farm green, and I make it brown here," Bednarz told Patch.

The 44-year-old Orland Park resident laughed when asked how he came up with the name 'Gost Coffee.'

"It was my graffiti artist name when I was a teenager," Bednarz said.

While graffiti art may have been a hobby in the past, Bednarz now calls coffee his passion. He started learning about and making his own coffee, and also took classes on coffee roasting. By 2019, he was roasting coffee in his basement and selling his product at farmers markets.

"Coffee has a lot of different outlets," Bednarz said. "It's in the background of everything."

People soon started asking Bednarz to sell his product online, and at that point, he knew he needed a commercial kitchen. He started looking at different options in the area, including shared commercial kitchen options.

Bednarz found the New Lenox location in June, and he has been in operation since September. As he fixed up his space, he added a sit-down area with couches and chairs so people could buy and drink the product at the store.

"There's nothing like a coffee roaster in the area," Bednarz said. "It's an underserved area."

Bednarz said some area businesses have already purchased coffee from him. Bednarz has also partnered with Arrowhead Ales Brewing Company, and the two businesses worked together to create a coffee-infused beer.

"Good coffee goes with great products," he said.

Bednarz recently set some tentative hours for the shop, which he said he will try out for a few weeks. Currently, Gost Coffee is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.