A brand new coffee shop is looking to make its way into a vacant tire shop in Auburn Gresham, located at 638 W. 79th St.
The new coffee shop is a part of a larger purchase of land bought by the McKnight family, which also owns Jamaica Jerk Villa on the same block. The family recently purchased a stretch of buildings across the street from the $35 million Auburn Park Metra station and has plans to bring several new businesses to the community. The group, led by Peter McKnight, hopes to take advantage of being so close to the train station with a new coffee shop that serves ice cream in the summer.
McKnight Tells What Now Chicago a name for the new cafe hasn’t been decided, but they like the idea of Jamaica Villa Cafe to complement the family’s other nearby business, Jamaica Jerk Villa. McKnight and his mother opened the first location in 2002 and now have two locations, with an expansion planned for the current 4,600-square-foot location at 642-648 W. 79th St. The family will focus on the expansion before working on the new cafe. The tire shop is slated for vacant land as soon as 2024.
“We started in Auburn Gresham, and God helped us to expand. We’re doing bigger and better things,” McKnight tells Block Club Chicago. “We’re trying to bring something nice and elegant to Auburn Gresham, where people can come, feel safe, eat a meal, and be proud of it.”
