Menu and Concept<\/h2>\n
To open Sarima, Mohajir teamed up with Lilac Tiger and Coach House chef de cuisine Jacob Dela Cruz, and the duo brought on Reema Patel, the pastry chef at Mariscos San Pedro in Pilsen. Together, they built a menu that includes doughnuts, cookies and bars \u2014 such as the ube crinkle and a chai leche flan doughnut \u2014 as well as savory breakfast items, like a breakfast dosa and a breakfast sandwich with chicken bacon tocino and a hashbrown.<\/p>\n
Sarima\u2019s opening comes as Filipino bakeries and restaurants in Chicago are having a moment, with hotspots like Kanin and the incredibly popular Del Sur Bakery in Ravenswood. Mohajir said his team hopes to be part of that success and add their own twist \u2014 which means incorporating flavors from their collective Indian and Filipino heritage.<\/p>\n
Coffee and Expansion<\/h2>\n
Sarima also has a full coffee menu with traditional espresso drinks as well as masala chai and signature lattes, like the Kaaju latte with cashew milk, dates and chai spice, and the Tropic Tonic with sparking water, espresso and pineapple and soursop syrup. The cafe shares a storefront with SALT Burgers and Fries in a location previously home to Beard Papa\u2019s, a cream puff bakery chain.<\/p>\n
Sarima\u2019s hours are 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, although Mohajir said the cafe will soon stay open later \u2014 and will soon serve ice cream, too. The Bucktown location could be the first of many Sarima Cafes to come, as the team eyes an expansion, Mohajir said.<\/p>\n
Semicolon Books Reopening With Coffee Shop<\/h1>\nNew Location and Concept<\/h2>\n
A Black-owned bookstore that\u2019s had several locations in recent years is reopening permanently in West Town, this time with an attached coffee shop. Semicolon Books, 1355 W. Chicago Ave., will open noon Wednesday \u2014 and for good this time, owner Danielle Moore said last week.<\/p>\n
Semicolon has become a staple in Chicago\u2019s literary community over the past six years. But it\u2019s also faced challenges as Moore has pivoted multiple times to keep her business going, including closing a short-lived location in the Wrigley Building Downtown.<\/p>\n
The cafe will feature local Black-owned coffee shops on a rotating basis. Muse Coffee Studio, 747 S. Western Ave., will be the first partner. They\u2019ll offer a full coffee menu plus specialty lattes, like a pound cake latte, Moore said. As Semicolon reopens, Moore plans to continue hosting events and pop-ups at the store and elsewhere around the city. Semicolon is also a stop on the Color Factory tour art experience.<\/p>\n A 16-seat, one-table tasting menu restaurant is now open in Bucktown\u00a0\u2014 and the address won\u2019t be known to diners until they make a reservation. Class Act opened on Damen Avenue earlier this month. It\u2019s the brainchild of executive chef Nicolai Mlodinow, and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sarima Cafe Opens In Bucktown Introduction to Sarima Cafe A cafe and bakery offering sweet and savory items that blend Filipino and Indian flavors is now open on the Bucktown-Wicker Park border. Sarima Cafe, 1924 W. North Ave., held a grand opening Friday. It\u2019s the latest venture from local chef Zubair Mohajir, who runs Lilac […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-25412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dining"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/07\/072525-Sarima-Cafe-Colin-Boyle-5474.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1279&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25412"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25412"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25415,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25412\/revisions\/25415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mullen-1024x682.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1\")
Semicolon owner Danielle Moore outside of her new location in the Wrigley Building on July 9, 2024. Credit:<\/span> Quinn Myers\/Block Club Chicago<\/span><\/p>\nCoffee Shop and Events<\/h2>\n
Other Food News<\/h1>\n
Class Act Restaurant<\/h2>\n