Business & Tech
Glenview Grind Brews For The Community
The Glenview Grind cafe opened in the same location as the former downtown Caribou store, on the corner of Glenview and Waukegan roads.
About four months after Caribou Coffee at the corner of Waukegan and Glenview roads in downtown Glenview shut its doors last spring, former Caribou employees helped open a new cafe for the neighborhood.
Glenview Grind was funded by Perry Mandera, a Glenview resident and loyal Caribou customer who decided to invest in a local cafe upon hearing news of the Caribou closure.
Luke Riehle, a manger at Glenview Grind and former Caribou staffer said Mandera offered returning Caribou staff a raise and benefits.
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"We had people who depended on their jobs [at Caribou]," Riehle said. "Caribou announced they were closing and people were unemployed six days later."
Between April 15, when Caribou's closed, and Sept. 1, when Glenview Grind opened, the new cafe's staff performed a complete makeover on the downtown shop.
TVs were installed, new coffee and food providers were found, even the furniture was polished.
"We wanted to go with a more sleek look," Riehle said. "We're trying to be a part of the community. Part of the reinvigorated downtown."
Among the cafe's outreach efforts, Grind has been raffling off a television to customers, with proceeds going to Glenview's Our Lady of Perpetual Hope church, which Mandera is a member of.
Riehle said the cafe has already raised more than $500 by selling $1 raffle tickets, and all proceeds will go to OLPH.
The cafe's serves eight different smoothy blends, fresh baked goods from Maier's Bakery in Morton Grove and fresh roasted coffee from a company in Schiller Park.
Have you tried Glenview Grind yet? How do you think it compares to the old Caribou?
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