Coffee is the world’s second most traded valuable commodity, ranking behind petroleum.
“You need gas for your car, you need coffee,” said Celeste Walker, one of the co-owners of Arcedium Coffeehouse in St. Charles.
And not just any coffee, but artisan-roasted coffee. Fresh, fair trade and organic coffee. After all, coffee roasting is an art and a science, Walker said.
“Artisan roasted is at the heart and soul of what we do,” said Walker of Geneva. But that’s not all: “We knew we needed to have food. It was important to have more than just pastries.”
So don’t think that Celeste Walker and her husband, Dennis, a St. Charles native, don’t pay attention to the food.
“Quality is so important no matter what we serve,” she said, adding all food is made in-house.
The menu includes coffee, espresso, tea, Arctics and Smoothies, breakfast, salads, grilled paninis and desserts.
The independent coffeehouse does not compete with national chains, Celeste Walker said.
“I frankly don’t feel we compete with them. We’re in a different realm. We’re set apart from what the corporates do. There is a vast difference. How you roast coffee is so crucial, bringing out the characteristics of that type of coffee. We believed if we could educate people, it’s hard to go back.”
The Walkers opened Arcedium Coffeehouse in 2009, after Dennis Walker left the builder/carpentry grind.
“The industry took a fall,” Celeste Walker said. “He was a coffee drinker, and we discovered the artisan roasters trend that was taking off about nine years ago. From our travels, we felt it was lacking here.”
She said Arcedium Coffeehouse was intended as a place to bring a sense of community. The Walkers work with local artists to get their work on the coffeehouse walls. The coffeehouse also has a secluded meeting room for community groups.
“We wanted a place that was warm and, when you walked in, you wanted to stay,” Walker said. “We maintain that goal with the horseshoe bar, the regulars in the morning, the telecommuters, those conducting meetings and interviews. They may be behind their computers, but they’re also interacting. We didn’t want a cold, sterile environment.”
With custom sandwiches named after Walker’s lawyer friends — she has her own practice in Geneva — and culinary school colleagues, the coffeehouse succeeds in creating that sense of community.
In fact, the coffeehouse itself combines the initials of the Walkers, her father and stepmother.
More Top Picks Best Portable White Noise Machines For Babies
Pricing: Breakfast from $4 for Steel Cut Oatmeal to $6.95 for Egg Sandwich Combo. Coffee from $2.05 for Fresh Brewed to $3.95 for Jump Start. Espresso from $2.95 for Americano to $5.65 for Aztec Mocha. Teas from $2.95 for Hot Tea to $5.05 for Chai Tea Latte. Classics from $3.10 for Hot Chocolate to $4.80 for Pomegranate Lemonade. Arcedium Arctics from $4.10 for Classic Arctic to $6.05 for Flippin Monkey. Smoothies from $4.40 for Four Berry to $5.30 for Strawberry Banana. Salads from $7.75 for Bistro to $9.75 for Chopped. Grilled Panini from $6.25 for PB&J to $9.25 for Roast Beef. Pastries & Sweets from $1 for Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Scones to $1.95 for Sweet Breads.
Hours: 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
Arcedium Coffeehouse is at 60 Indiana St., St. Charles. Contact 630-444-0610 or go to arcedium.com.
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance writer.