Back of the Yards Coffee opens new location on South Side: 'Gives back to the community'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Something special and delicious is brewing in the city's Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Back of the Yards Coffee, a Latine-owned coffee company homegrown right in the South Side community, officially opened its doors Saturday in its vibrant, new and spacious home.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

"This is a labor of love, this is something we brought to the community almost 10 years ago," Back of the Yards Coffee founder Jesse Iniguez said.

The new location is nestled in a piece of history, a historic Goldblatt's building at West 47th Street and South Marshfield Avenue.

"We deserve nice things too, and just because something like this hasn't been here before doesn't mean that it doesn't belong," Iniguez said. "This is not just about me. This is about our team, about our employees, our community. We're trying to bring economic development to the area."

Founded in 2016, Back of the Yards Coffee's recent expansion is part of a city initiative to revitalize commercial corridors that are historically disinvested.

SEE ALSO | Revitalization efforts breathing new life into Chicago's Chatham neighborhood

"It's a sense of pride you get right away because you know the people, you know the spaces and you see the long term change," Back of the Yards native Dr. Claudio Rivera said. "It's changing for the better."

Dr. Rivera, a pediatric psychologist, said the investment in the community will hopefully serve up some positive change.

"I think what Jesse is doing with this particular coffee shop having that social-impact model that hires from the community and gives back to the community, we know that could have a ripple effect that can stimulate social and economic impact in the neighborhood," Dr. Rivera said.

Customer Pepe Guzman said Back of the Yards and the hard working community deserves this investment.

"Hard-working families live here and they deserve a nice spot where they can come in, enjoy a cup of coffee support their own community, Latino community," Guzman said.