my coffee journey began in 2013 when the pottery studio i’d been working at introduced an espresso bar to the mix. i’ll never forget that my first served americano consisted of brewed coffee combined with water… still so much to learn.

if health sciences is not a major you’d imagine a small business owner to declare, you’d be right. initially hoping to go into the medical field, I exercised my little science brain at DePaul til it was fried. not feeling compelled to begin a career in medicine, i first learned latte art in 2018 managing hero coffee bar on Madison st in the west loop (rip).

after a life-changing three months backpacking through South America with my best friend, i decided coffee and beverages could be my happiness. I returned to Chicago to work at limitless coffee & tea. in just 4 months, i was managing both store locations and 23 employees.

the pandemic and sale of limitless caffeinated sparkling water to Keurig/dr. pepper put an abrupt end to the general managing position, however, a new opportunity to open edie’s all day cafe had fallen in my lap. I developed and directed the non-alcoholic beverage program at edie’s all day cafe & bar from 2020-2022. toward the tail end of my tenure, I added alcoholic beverage director to my belt.

in may 2022, I determined to evolve my creative pursuits into a small business selling syrups and beverages to the public; big sis bevs & syrups was born and has been growing ever since. I still enjoy the part-time company of baristas and other creatives at caffe umbria armitage while pursuing this dream full time.