Limitless Coffee Leaves Logan Square as 20-Tap Kombucha Bar Takes Over

Today was the final day for Limitless High Definition Coffee + Tea in Logan Square. After about two and a half months, Limitless owner/founder Matt Matros is packing up at 2355 N. Milwaukee Ave., the former Owen + Alchemy space. Matros ran the location as a pop-up, as he and his staff used the space to prepare to open a flagship Limitless in Fulton Market.

Matros said Limitless Fulton Market will open in September and that the pop-up showed customers were more interested in adventurous items like mushroom and kava lattes versus traditional coffee drinks.

But as was the case in January, the space won’t be vacant for long. As Limitless closes, a new cafe is coming that focuses on kombucha on tap. Simply called The Kombucha Room, the new cafe will allow patrons to fill growlers of the fermented tea with Russian and Chinese origins that drinkers swear by for health benefits.

Mel Mohamednur is the owner of the business. She hopes to give Chicagoans a one-stop shop for kombacha from local brewers and all across the Midwest. She’ll have 20 taps of kombucha. Half will be from Chicago brewers, and the other half from brewers in Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio.

“It’s not a super-complex drink,” Mohamednur said. “It’s an everyday go-to drink, if you want to, and it’s healthy.”

Mohamednur’s sister and yoga friends got her interested in the beverage, which she says as an alternative to sugary soft drinks and alcohol. She’s acknowledged the skeptics who don’t believe in the alleged health benefits. Mohamednur touted how the drink helps people suffering from digestive problems. They’ll also have joon, a kombucha that replaces the sugar with honey. Mohamednur called it the “champagne of kombuchas.” The rest of the drinks could be flavored with ginger, turmeric, or jalapeños.

Chicagoans don’t have many choices when it comes to kombucha. They can visit Whole Foods or another grocer, or stop by the Dill Pickle Food Co-op in Logan Square or the Heartland Cafe in Rogers Park. But there’s no social aspect at those retailers. Mohamednur wants to renovate the Limitless space to make it brighter, to better serve laptoppers during the day and have more of a bar feel at night. They’ll have kombucha flights and growlers—32 or 64 ounces—to carry out.

They won’t make food on premises, but there will be sweet and savory snacks to pair with kombucha. Snacks from Bee’s Knees and vegan cookies are possibilities.

Even though the native of Taiwan is a first-time business owner, having ditched her consultant job, Mohamednur hopes to open more than one location. She came to America for school and the University of Michigan grad moved to Chicago where her husband lives. They’re expecting a child in June.

“I keep on telling my baby to stay there until it’s time,” Mohamednur said, while rubbing her stomach.