Chicago: “Home of some of the kindest people anywhere” 🇺🇸

As the 3rd-largest city in the United States, Chicago isn’t known for its friendliness. But then Filter is not the travel guide for what you already know.

Xavier Alexander was born in Chicago and moved back as an adult. After several years as roasting manager for Intelligentsia Coffee, he co-founded Metric Coffee on W. Fulton Street.

*Xavier Alexander co-founded Metric Coffee in 2013 with Darko Arnadjelovic. Photos courtesy of Metric Coffee*

Filter: What’s one of your favorite things to do around town?

At this stage of my life, having a business that keeps me quite busy along with being a parent of 3 young boys, the concept of fun looks a little different for me these days. But one thing I really enjoy with them is visiting the Galloping Ghost Arcade which is located in Brookfield, a suburb of West Chicago.

Filter: What do you do for fun around Chicago?

Prior to having kids, I loved attending shows or even playing them but these days, I enjoy keeping it low key and so, for fun, my partner and I like to go to our favorite wine shop, pop open a bottle of barolo, and either talk, play cards, or chat with the owners who are not only fantastic people but also parents like us. The wine shop is called Anfora Wine Merchants and they are located in downtown Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago.

Filter: Do you have any go-to places to take friends from out of town?

In Chicago, there is no shortage of amazing places to visit but if a friend comes into town, we prefer to invite them over to our place and make them an awesome home cooked meal, all made by my partner Kirstin. We find that with kids it’s challenging to spend time away especially since we do not have any help, so to create a meaningful connection and conversations we love to go all-out on tasty food and wine because, honestly, it doesn’t get better than an awesome home-cooked meal for us. As a chef, Kirstin can whip up anything and make it insanely delicious but among my favorite dishes that she makes—her gumbo is insanely delicious and reminds her of home.

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

One of our favorite spots to visit outside of the city is New Buffalo, Michigan, which is in the southwest corner of Michigan and about a 1.5-hour drive from the city. While there, we love popping into Granor Farms to buy delicious organic vegetables and head over to Journeyman Distilling for an awesome brunch, along with dabbling with one of their flights of whiskey. And if we’re feeling up to it, on the way back we stop by the Indiana Dunes to let the kids roll right off the massive dunes—perfect for wearing them out on the car ride home.

Filter: What touristy things in Chicago are worth the hype?

It’s probably no secret that Chicago is a world class dining city but also has some of the best breweries in the country which are often visited by tourists that are looking for a well made midwest brew. One place I love going to is Hopewell Brewing which is a small local brewery located in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood with an amazing taproom to boot.

Filter: Where are your favorite green spaces there?

The Garfield Conservatory located in Garfield Park is a lovely space and it is one of the largest and most stunning botanical conservatories in the nation, showcasing thousands of plant species from around the world. It’s a fantastic place to bring a coffee, walk around, and enjoy the peaceful serenity of the space.

Filter: What makes Chicago feel most like home to you?

What makes Chicago home for me, outside it being the place I was born (raised in Puerto Rico and Florida) is its ability to be the home of some of the kindest people anywhere. When I first moved here back in 2008, I had no friends and mostly kept to myself (self-professed introvert here). But over time, people at work and at public places would kick start conversations which at times resulted in friendships, some of which have lasted till this very day. And while it may be true to have this experience in other places around the country, I've found Chicago and the spirit of the people that call it home to be authentic and real.

Filter: How did you end up in the coffee scene in Chicago?

I came to visit a friend back in ‘08 for 2 weeks after leaving my roasting job back in Orlando, Florida. At the time, I wasn't sure what I'd do next, which is when a friend of mine offered me temp work here in the city which kept me here longer than my estimated 2-week stay. What prompted my move here was when I started to date my friend's roommate, who was on the rebound from a long-term relationship (redflag?) which sealed my decision to unplug from Florida and move to Chicago. Soon after arriving, she dumped me and I found myself back to square one, unsure about which direction I'd be moving towards but determined to stay and make Chicago home.

About a year in of living here, I was really enjoying my life here in Chicago but wasn’t finding much success in the job market which almost prompted my decision to move back to Orlando which was foiled by the meeting of the most beautiful young lady who I later married and became my partner. About a year after tying the knot, I found an opportunity at Intelligentsia Coffee and served as Roaster/QC Specialist for the first 3 years and was later promoted to Roasting Manager, a position I held until my departure in 2013. During those years, I learned so much from my peers including my boss, the great Geoff Watts, who was nothing but kind and welcoming, and I really valued my years there and all of the experiences that helped shape the values I express in my own company.

Filter: Can you share about your role at Metric?

I am the co-founder of Metric along with my business partner Darko Arnadjelovic. I would say my role is Director of Coffee but also, to their credit, our Roasting Manager, Hara, is managing the bulk of the coffee in the last 2 seasons (big ups to Hara) and so, I would say that I play the role of marketing among other things. Both Darko and I launched Metric in 2013 inside an incubator space as a wholesaler, and eventually opened a small retail shop inside our roastery in 2016—and [also] Brite, a bakery owned and operated by my partner Kirstin Alexander. The genesis of Metric began back in 2011 when Darko, who back then owned a multi-roaster cafe in Wicker Park, and I discussed launching our own roasting company with the intention of eventually going exclusive at his cafe with our product. After a few years of Darko owning that cafe, he sold it and focused exclusively on Metric with Darko serving more on the operations/consulting side and I handled all things coffee. Today, Metric and Brite employ around 22 staff members between the cafe, roastery, and kitchen, and just this year became a Certified B-Corp which we are both proud of and humbled by.

Filter: What's one other coffee shop around there that you really admire, and what about them stands out to you?

My favorite spot right now is hands-down The Understudy, which are also wholesale partners of Metric. Owned by couple Danny Fender and Adam Crawford, The Understudy is focused on serving only single origin coffees—both on filter and espresso—along with offering our pastries by our sister company, Brite. What makes The Understudy so special in their staff. Everytime you walk in, guests are greeted by the kindest, warmest and sweetest baristas, all passionate about coffee and guest experience—a must visit for anyone coming into the city.

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and what shop would be the biggest reason?

That’s a challenging question because I have been to many Central and South American countries (only once to Spain) and I have loved every single experience—but for me, right now, I would say Bogotá, Colombia. After traveling there for the last 8 years, I have grown to love the city, the people, and all of the lovely spots to get delicious food, drinks, and coffee. One of my favorite spots is the Azahar Cafe, which has a lot of delicious coffee and food and the perfect place to post up for a few hours and work out of.

Filter: Is there anything you'd like to add about what you love about Chicago?

I once heard that “if you can make it in Chicago, you can make it anywhere” and I believe that to be correct. This city, as wild as the media makes it out to be (and to be honest, it does have its fair share of issues) is still a wonderful place to live in except for the winters of course :)

Still, what keeps us here are two things: the community of friends that we have made here over the years and our business—which we love dearly and couldn’t imagine doing anything else in the world. The support that we receive from both our friends and community is really special to us and for now, I can't imagine a better place in the world to live in but then again, if you ask me that question in February (our deep winter) I might have a slightly different answer :)

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Metric is a modern cafe, roastery, training center, and lab located in Chicago's Kinzie Corridor.

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