After West Town Bakery served up thousands of pies and pastries for Thanksgiving, we had the chance to sit down with Manager, Patrick Wingert to find out what is making this bakery thrive in Chicago’s competitive pastry and coffee scene. Dark Matter, West Town Bakery’s coffee source, has three coffee shops in Chicago and now Northern Trust employees have the artisanal brews in their office through the West Town Bakery cafe.

Why is Dark Matter Coffee better than the typical cup of Joe?

Dark Matter Coffee is a company located here in Chicago that follows a philosophy where quality coffees are sourced based on traceability, innovation and social responsibility. Dark Matter is our only coffee source and provides us with our own West Town blend, consisting of Mexican, Guatemalan, Brazilian and El Salvadorian beans. It is a medium roast that’s perfect for drinking all day long. It pairs well with milk, but stands on its own as black.

Dark Matter is completely different from what you will find at a Dunkin Donuts or Folgers, which is why it’s sold at a higher price point. It’s direct trade coffee that comes from small farms in South and Central America and Mexico. Dark Matter works directly with farmers rather than working with an importer. They find the best beans and put money directly in the hands of the farmer. It’s an investment that goes directly to the farmer and helps build their community.

Unlike most coffee chains, our baristas can tell you the story behind Dark Matter coffee and they even know the farm where the beans are from. With our West Town Bakery loyalty program, buy 9 coffees and your 10th one is on us (There’s also our Fifty/ 50 Loyalty Rewards Program that can be used at all Fifty/50 restaurants – including Steadfast, which is just across the street from Northern Trust!). 

How does West Town Bakery maintain its 3-Star Green Certification?

We put a lot of time and effort into the food we make, so it just made sense to carry this effort into being environmentally friendly. The Green Restaurant Association is based out of Boston and provides five essential steps to making our restaurant green. Annually, they take a look at our restaurant top to bottom and consider everything from what clothing our workers wear, the percentage of organic food sold, to the efficiency of our lighting.

It took about 11 months to get our 3-star green certification. We’re proud that our products now come in environmentally friendly packaging and we use green-approved lighting in our bakeries. We continue try everything we possibly can to run an efficient and eco-friendly establishment.

What is the inspiration behind West Town Bakery’s menu?

Our menu is fluid and changes seasonally based off of fresh ingredients. Our pastry chef, Christopher Teixeira is constantly looking into how we can incorporate only the freshest ingredients into the latest food trends.  He takes his creative concepts straight to the kitchen and teaches our other bakers how to make every item fresh and consistently. Every single one of our items is always handmade and artisan.

What’s the secret behind West Town Bakery’s ingredients?

We get our high-quality ingredients from small local farms in Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. Our farm-to-table restaurant, Homestead on the Roof, sits right on top of West Town Bakery and utilizes the same kitchen where you’ll find only the freshest elements. One ingredient our bakery can’t live without is the evaporated cane juice that we use instead of regular sugar. This is a natural sweetener that retains more of the nutrients from the sugar cane.

What is your most popular bakery item?

Our trail mix scone is the perfect savory breakfast item. It’s one of the very first items we ever made and consists of pumpkin seed, flaxseed, rolled oats and dried fruit. It is a constructed version of our homemade granola which is gluten and vegan free. We don’t set out to make vegan or gluten free items, but if we can tweak the ingredients without sacrificing the taste of the dish, we will definitely accommodate any food allergy.

For a sweeter option, our cake balls are hands down a best seller. They come in a variety of flavors including vanilla sprinkle, red velvet and french toast. We throw cake batter in the mixer with frosting which really hydrates the mix. We then roll the mix into a ball and freeze them. Once frozen, we then cover in white chocolate, dark chocolate or milk chocolate. Depending on the flavor, we then roll on t
oppings including sprinkles, cake pieces and of course more chocolate.