The Wormhole Coffee: Modern-day coffee meets the past
Generation X and Y grew up on Star Wars, Back to the Future and other pop culture gems, but now as adults they can add caffeine to their addictions. Chicago's Wicker Park is saturated with trendy coffee shops, but Wormhole Coffee is the only one with a full-sized DeLorean in it.
From the outside window, the DeLorean’s OUTATIME license plate piques one's curiosity. Inside, the high ceilings unveil a bevy of nostalgic childhood artifacts: a Han Solo mug, Smurfs dolls, a Castle Grayskull from He-Man, lunchboxes, thermoses, an older model TV hooked up to an Atari 5200 video game system and Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, The Goonies, Gremlins and Tron movie posters on the wall. Yes, it feels like a time warp back to 1985, but the crowd of people sitting on couches surfing the web on their laptops snaps customers back to the present.
Don’t let the kitsch distract from the coffee, which is the main attraction here. An iced coffee ($2.25) costs more than it does at Starbucks, but Wormhole acquires its coffee beans from the best microroasters across the country. Besides specialty and basic coffee drinks, Wormhole concocts shots like The Ghostbusters referenced Walter Peck: a shot of half and half, coffee and vanilla syrup.
Sandwiches like peanut butter and jelly and tuna are available, as are vegan cupcakes and sugary kids cereal like Cocoa Puffs, but their adult version comes with a shot of espresso in the milk.
The constant bustling of activity might make it difficult to get any real work done, but it’s worth a try. Using their laptops, customers can take advantage of the free Wi-Fi. A single desk work station equipped for work hovers in the corner and a long table reminiscent of the kind found in a library or study hall acts as a means to acquaint java and nostalgia loving strangers with each other.
Posted by Garin Pirnia
