Lake Forest Joins Caribou Coffee's Return To Chicago Suburban Market

Caribou Coffee has something new to talk about for a change.

Slated to open in September, Lake Forest will become one of eight new homes to a Caribou Coffee shop. The eight locations represent a sudden growth shift for the St. Paul-Minneapolis company, which hasn’t opened a new store nationally for nearly five years, according to Dean Torrenga, senior director of operations for Caribou Coffee.

“We know we are under-serving the Chicago DNA,” Torrenga said. “Chicago is our second-largest market (to St. Paul-Minneapolis), and know it could be one of our largest. It is time.”

The Lake Forest store will occupy two storefronts at 620 N. Western Ave. In between is an entrance to upstairs apartments, which will mean some modifications to create a link between the two spaces.

“It will create a unique design and allow us to have one side for product display and where people get their coffee with some seating, and then the other side will be primarily for seating,” Torrenga said. “The second area will have a buffer from the noise on the first side.”

The coffee shop will cover more than 1,600 square feet and provide another choice for morning commuters besides and . Torrenga believes Caribou Coffee will become a community meeting destination.

“We encourage people to meet in the store,” he said. “We want them to use it for multiple purposes, whether it’s a quick, cheap date, a job interview or a place to relax. We will put in elements to welcome that type of versatility in one location.”

Torrenga said Caribou’s return to adding new locations began with a change in corporate leadership within the last two years, and a new slogan focused on its customers – “The Community Place I Love.”

“Lake Forest was one of the areas we targeted,” Torrenga said. “We’ve seen how people come to downtown and the train right there. We think it’s a perfect type of community for our store.”

Caribou Coffee met with the Lake Forest Historic Preservation Committee on June 22 to gain approval for its signage, awnings and lighting. They will return before the commission on July 27.

“It’s quite a historical location, and we’ve done a lot of work on the bathrooms to get them up to code,” Torrenga said.

Besides the Lake Forest location, Caribou Coffee also will open in Bucktown in Chicago in September; two are planned in Naperville, including one in Fox Valley Mall, plus Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, Golf Mill in Niles and in downtown Northbrook.

Torrenga said the additions will increase Caribou Coffee’s presence to 52 locations in Illinois with more planned for 2012.