Life’s too short to drink bad coffee, or so the saying goes, something the Elgin Area Convention & Visitors Bureau hopes to remedy with its new Coffee Trail.
If you’re looking to fill your cup at a place specializing in java, the trail is a list of local businesses that have made a cup o’ Joe their house speciality should you want to experiment with some new brews or maybe make a day of it sampling a few options.
“I hope the trail brings awareness not just to mine, but to all the local coffee shops around the area,” said Kate Micheletto, who owns Eastside Cafe in East Dundee. “Every shop brings something unique and wonderful to their town. My shop is like an extended family. We’re just hoping to be able to grow that family a little more.”
The Coffee Trail, which opens Sunday, works the same way as the bureau’s taco and burger trails, which are still ongoing, said Krisilee Murphy, the bureau’s CEO and president.
“For years, we have run print and digital campaigns promoting itineraries that showcase different ways for visitors and residents to explore our region,” Murphy said. “Creating food trails for some of the more popular cuisines we have seemed like the next step in encouraging visitors to enjoy our destinations.”
To hop on a trail, people sign up for a free “passport” through the bureau’s website, exploreelginarea.com/explore-elgin-area-trails. When they visit a participating location, they send a photo or submit their location data as proof of the stop.
Recording three visits on a particular trail automatically enters someone into drawings held every 90 days for a chance to win a $20 gift card to a local restaurant or coffee house. At the end of each trail promotion, there are grand prize drawings for more than $100 in gift cards to local businesses, Murphy said.
Each trail promotion runs for a year from its respective launch. The plan is to add two more trails by next summer, Murphy said.
“Most of our restaurants are still struggling to get staff so we researched products we could use that would allow us to have participants check in through the program without having to put any strain on the businesses,” she said. “They are able to enjoy the benefit of people visiting their restaurant and checking in through our promotion.”
So far, 271 people across 50 Zip codes have signed up for burger and taco program passports.
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The burger and taco trails each have about 20 participating restaurants, while the coffee trail has about 10 shops so far. Businesses can join anytime by paying a $25 fee.
Bob Karas, who owns Karas Restaurant Group, has signed up his eateries — Alexander’s Cafe and Rookies Sports Bar in Elgin and the Village Squire restaurants in South Elgin and West Dundee — for all three.
“I am from Elgin and love to support Elgin and anything that has to do with the city,” Karas said.
The trail promotions also provide him with another avenue for getting the word out about his businesses, he said.
“We spread our message as much as we can,” Karas said.
Among the items being touted along the trails, he said, are the gourmet shrimp tacos at Village Squire and the breakfast tacos at Alexander’s.
“And the coffee at Alexander’s is from Intelligentsia. We like that the brand has Chicago roots,” Karas said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.