Sparrow Coffee
Sparrow Coffee is a Chicago-based specialty coffee roastery and café operator serving 160 wholesale restaurants — including half of Chicago's Michelin-starred establishments — plus retail customers via café locations and a Shopify e-commerce storefront.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Sparrow Coffee does
Sparrow Coffee is a Chicago-based craft coffee roastery and café operator founded in 2018. The company's core asset is its Chicago roastery at 2040 W. Fulton St, which produces single-origin and blended coffees using modified roasting equipment unique in the world — hybrid-green technology roasters that emit minimal smoke without an afterburner, combined with an anaerobic-and-fire roasting methodology that allows very dark roasts without burnt carbon elements and light roasts without aggressive acidity. Master roaster Chris Chacko, with over 30 years of experience and 100,000+ roasts, leads production. The roastery continuously rotates over 50 single-origin coffees, most of which are limited-quantity nano-lots sourced primarily from certified organic small shareholder farms.
Sparrow Coffee firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sparrow Coffee
- Legal name
- Sparrow Coffee
- Website
- https://sparrowcoffee.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sparrow Coffee is a Chicago-based specialty coffee roastery and café operator serving 160 wholesale restaurants — including half of Chicago's Michelin-starred establishments — plus retail customers via café locations and a Shopify e-commerce storefront.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sparrow Coffee industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Coffee Roastery and Café
- NAICS
- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Beverage Manufacturing (3121)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Coffee Roasting & Grinding (AFAFADAB), Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ), Coffee (Roasted, Ground, Whole Bean) (CRADAHAG), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG)
Keywords
Where Sparrow Coffee is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Sparrow Coffee business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- E-commerce Coffee Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of roasted coffee beans, teas, and merchandise through sparrowcoffee.com. Orders ship domestically via ground shipping with free shipping on orders over $50.
- Cafe Operations: Operating physical cafe locations serving coffee beverages and hand-crafted pastries. Flagship Naperville cafe open 6 AM to 6 PM daily. Clarendon Hills location under construction with village subsidy.
- Wholesale Coffee Program: Wholesale program supplying custom-roasted coffee to chef-driven restaurants. Includes equipment certification, full equipment support, and custom formulations. They do not sell through chain stores or distributors.
- Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including tumblers and coffee accessories through the online store.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Single origin and blend coffees 16oz |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Teas and specialty beverages |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Merchandise - Tumblers and accessories |
| Subscription | Monthly | Wholesale coffee program |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Sparrow Coffee product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sparrow Coffee is a Chicago-based craft coffee roastery and café operator that sources, roasts, and serves specialty single-origin and blended coffees. It produces more than 50 rotating single-origin lots at its Chicago roastery using modified equipment with hybrid-green technology and an anaerobic/fire-roasting methodology, sells beans, teas, and merchandise direct-to-consumer through its e-commerce site, operates a flagship café in Naperville with additional cafés opening in Clarendon Hills and Topeka, and runs a wholesale program that creates custom roasts, certifies equipment, and provides full service to chef-driven restaurants.
Product overview
Sparrow Coffee is a Chicago-based craft coffee roastery and café operator offering single-origin and blended coffees through retail café locations, an e-commerce platform, and a B2B wholesale program. The core offering comprises the Chicago Roastery (2040 W. Fulton St) producing custom roasts for 160 restaurants including Michelin-starred establishments, the Naperville Cafe (flagship, est. 2018) and Clarendon Hills Cafe retail locations, and a Wholesale Coffee Program for chef-driven restaurants with equipment certification and service. The product portfolio includes over 50 rotating single-origin coffees, signature espresso blends (Espresso Marbella, Cremona, Havana), specialty teas (Earl Grey, Chai Masala, Chamomile), and merchandise (Fellow tumbler), plus a personalized gift label service. The roastery employs modified equipment for anaerobic and fire-roasting techniques, sourcing certified organic coffees from small shareholder farms globally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sparrow Coffee Roastery (Custom Wholesale Roasting) Craft coffee roastery at 2040 W. Fulton St, Chicago, producing custom single-origin and blended coffee roasts for 160 restaurants including half of Chicago's Michelin-starred establishments, using modified roasting equipment and an in-house coffee lab for continuous quality cupping.
- Sparrow Naperville Café
- Sparrow Clarendon Hills Café
- Sparrow Coffee at Link Innovation Labs (Topeka Café)
- Wholesale Coffee Program
- Single-Origin Coffee Collection
- Espresso Marbella
- Guatemala Finca El Jardín Pacamara
- Mexico San Isidro Zoquiapam
- Specialty Tea Line (Earl Grey, Chai Masala, Chamomile Orange Tisane, Matcha)
- Sparrow Fellow Carter 3-in-1 Tumbler (16 oz)
- Personalized Gift Labels Service
Quantifiable outcome
- Serves more Michelin-starred restaurants than all other Chicago roasters combined
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Sparrow Coffee
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Sparrow Coffee technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature4 records
Sparrow Coffee partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- KBS ConstructorscoreProject's general contractor for Link Innovation Labs in Topeka. KBS stepped in as a sponsor to help make the coffee shop component viable, completing a retrofit of a former AT&T telecom facility into a sit-down café space for Sparrow Coffee.
- GO TopekacoreEconomic development team that issued a broad inquiry to local coffee shops for the innovation hub. Selected Sparrow Coffee from among multiple local shops that responded. Part of broader mission to foster community and collaboration among startups.
- Village of Clarendon HillscoreVillage officials provided a $622,000 subsidy in October 2024 to renovate a former Starbucks location for Sparrow Coffee's Clarendon Hills cafe. Part of economic development initiative to boost downtown activity.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sparrow Coffee competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Intelligentsia Coffee: Chicago-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator with deep wholesale penetration into high-end restaurants and direct DTC sales. Directly competes with Sparrow in the same Chicago fine-dining account base and third-wave cafe market.
- Dark Matter Coffee: Chicago specialty roaster and cafe operator focusing on experimental processing and unique single-origin offerings. Closely comparable to Sparrow on craft roasting ethos, Chicago origin, and restaurant/cafe omnichannel model.
- Metric Coffee: Chicago-based specialty roaster with a strong cafe and wholesale presence, including fine-dining accounts. Comparable to Sparrow on geography, size, and the roastery-plus-cafe-plus-wholesale GTM.
- Caffe Streets: Chicago micro-roaster serving third-wave cafes and restaurants with small-batch offerings. Competes with Sparrow for similar chef-driven wholesale accounts and craft-focused DTC consumers in Chicago.
- Big Shoulders Coffee: Chicago-based specialty roaster with wholesale and cafe operations. Comparable to Sparrow on the Midwest specialty coffee segment and the emphasis on chef/restaurant partnerships.
Broad incumbents
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Nationally distributed third-wave specialty roaster acquired by Peet's/Lavazza. Comparable to Sparrow on direct-trade sourcing and restaurant/cafe partnerships, but operates at much larger scale with broader distribution.
- Counter Culture Coffee: Specialty roaster with sustainability focus and training/education programs. Comparable to Sparrow on direct-trade sourcing and cafe/restaurant customer base, but at materially larger scale.
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Specialty roaster with cafes, wholesale, and DTC at national scale. Comparable to Sparrow on multi-channel GTM and premium positioning, but with broader distribution and larger retail footprint.
- Blue Bottle Coffee: Specialty coffee company with cafes, wholesale, and DTC owned by Nestlé. Comparable to Sparrow on third-wave craft positioning and fine-dining wholesale, but at national scale with significant capital behind it.
Regional players
- Colectivo Coffee: Midwest specialty roaster and cafe chain based in Wisconsin. Comparable to Sparrow on craft roasting and regional restaurant/wholesale program, but serves a different Midwest geography.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sparrow Coffee social profiles
Digital presenceSparrow Coffee financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sparrow Coffee leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Sparrow Coffee funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sparrow Coffee M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sparrow Coffee
What does Sparrow Coffee do?
Sparrow Coffee is a Chicago-based craft coffee roastery and café operator that sources, roasts, and serves specialty single-origin and blended coffees. It produces more than 50 rotating single-origin lots at its Chicago roastery using modified equipment with hybrid-green technology and an anaerobic/fire-roasting methodology, sells beans, teas, and merchandise direct-to-consumer through its e-commerce site, operates a flagship café in Naperville with additional cafés opening in Clarendon Hills and Topeka, and runs a wholesale program that creates custom roasts, certifies equipment, and provides full service to chef-driven restaurants.
Is Sparrow Coffee a public or private company?
Sparrow Coffee is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sparrow Coffee founded?
Sparrow Coffee was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sparrow Coffee based?
Sparrow Coffee is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sparrow Coffee make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. E-commerce Coffee Sales are the primary driver. The others are cafe Operations, wholesale Coffee Program and merchandise Sales.
Who are Sparrow Coffee's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Intelligentsia Coffee, Dark Matter Coffee, Metric Coffee, Caffe Streets and Big Shoulders Coffee. Broad incumbents are Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Counter Culture Coffee, La Colombe Coffee Roasters and Blue Bottle Coffee. Colectivo Coffee is listed as a regional player.
Does Sparrow Coffee have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sparrow Coffee.
What industry is Sparrow Coffee in?
Sparrow Coffee's product category is Specialty Coffee Roastery and Café. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAE, Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes), with a secondary code of AFAFADAB, Coffee Roasting & Grinding. Its NAICS code is 31192 and its SIC code is 2080.