THE SPOKE & BIRD

What THE SPOKE & BIRD does

The Spoke & Bird is an employee-owned, woman-owned food and beverage hospitality group operating two café locations in Chicago — its original flagship in the South Loop neighborhood and a second site in Pilsen. The company serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, baked goods, coffee, and tea to a primarily walk-in neighborhood retail base, with a stated supply-side identity built on partnerships with more than 30 local farms and food producers.

The operating stack is intentionally lightweight: the company runs online ordering through Chowly and Koala delivery aggregators, and operates a customer loyalty program on SquareUp. The website and app footprint do not indicate proprietary technology, and there are no disclosed AI, ML, or data-asset components. The offering is rounded out by a Catering & Events service line that extends the café menu into private event and corporate hospitality. The company holds a WBE (Woman Business Enterprise) certification, positioning it for supplier diversity procurement channels as it pursues additional institutional business.

The business model is fundamentally a multi-unit independent café operator monetizing retail ticket sales, beverage attach, bakery output, and event catering, with growth intended to come from additional Chicago storefronts in Bridgeport, Printer's Row, Hyde Park, and Bronzeville. There are no disclosed funding rounds, investor backing, M&A activity, or audited revenue figures, and headcount is reported only as a band of 11–50 employees.

Name

THE SPOKE & BIRD

Legal name

The Spoke and Bird

Website

https://spokeandbird.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Spoke & Bird is an employee-owned, woman-owned café group operating two locations in Chicago's South Loop and Pilsen, serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, coffee, and baked goods sourced from 30+ local farms, with a catering line and WBE certification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cafe and Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (722320), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAFACAJ

All-Day Dining Restaurants

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Full-Service Restaurants (Casual & Fine Dining)

Keywords

• Cafe and market
• Breakfast and brunch
• Coffee and pastries
• Catering services
• Farm-to-table

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: One-time transaction sales of prepared food, coffee, tea, baked goods, pastries, and specialty beverages at café locations. Covers breakfast, brunch, and lunch service.
2. Catering Services: Private and semi-private event catering at South Loop location, plus offsite drop-off and pickup catering throughout Chicagoland area for birthdays, anniversaries, corporate meetings, and other events.
3. Gift Card Sales: Sale of gift cards through SquareUp platform for gifting purposes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Spoke & Bird is a food hospitality group that operates two café and market locations in Chicago (South Loop and Pilsen) serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch, along with coffee, tea, specialty beverages, baked goods, and pastries. The company also offers private and semi-private event catering at the South Loop location and offsite drop-off and pickup catering throughout Chicagoland, supported by an online ordering system and a points-based loyalty club.

Product overview

The Spoke & Bird is a café and market offering breakfast, brunch, and lunch with coffee shop specialties. The core offering includes a full menu of comfort food, sandwiches (French Dip, Chicken Caesar, Breakfast, The Bird, Jambon-Beurre), quiche, salads, baked goods, pastries, and beverages (coffee, tea, specialty drinks). The company operates an online ordering platform for pickup and delivery, a catering & events service for private gatherings, and a loyalty club program. They are an employee-owned, woman-owned (WBE) food hospitality group operating two locations in Chicago's South Loop and Pilsen neighborhoods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cafe and Market A café and market offering breakfast, brunch, and lunch focused on comfort food, coffee shop specialties, sandwiches (French Dip, Chicken Caesar, BLT, Patty Melt, Mushroom & Quinoa Burger, Spoke & Bird Smash Burger, Vegetarian Reuben, Jambon-Beurre, The Bird), quiche, deli sides, salads, pastries, baked goods, coffee, and tea. Operated at two Chicago locations (South Loop and Pilsen) with indoor and outdoor patio seating.
• Online Ordering (Pickup and Delivery) Website-based online ordering system for pickup and delivery, allowing customers to order from the full menu including breakfast, brunch, lunch, beverages, and baked goods. Powered by Chowly and Koala platforms.
• Catering and Events Private and semi-private event hosting at the South Loop location (private dining room, tree-covered patio), plus offsite drop-off and pickup catering throughout Chicagoland for birthdays, anniversaries, company meetings, wedding rehearsal dinners, and other events. Bookable via Explore Tock.
• Chicago Eats Loyalty Club Points-based loyalty program where members earn points by eating and drinking, with perks including free drinks, food, and surprise monthly offers. Powered by the SquareUp platform.
• Gift Cards Sale of gift cards through the SquareUp platform for gifting purposes.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Floriole Cafe & Bakery: Chicago bakery-café in Old Town serving French-inspired pastries, sandwiches, and coffee with a similar farm-to-table ethos. Highly comparable on product mix (baked goods + café fare), sourcing narrative, and Chicago neighborhood café positioning.
• Sparrow Coffee: Chicago specialty coffee and café concept offering pastries and light fare. Directly comparable as a Chicago neighborhood café competitor with overlapping product mix (coffee, pastries, light food) and customer base.
• Sawada Coffee: Chicago specialty coffee bar founded by a world-barista-champion brand, focusing on high-end coffee beverages in a small-format neighborhood setting. Comparable on specialty-coffee positioning and Chicago neighborhood café customer overlap.
• Intelligentsia Coffee: Chicago-founded specialty coffee roaster and café operator with multiple locations serving the same metropolitan market. Directly comparable as a multi-unit Chicago café emphasizing quality sourcing and specialty beverages, sharing a similar customer demographic and neighborhood retail format.
• Blue Bottle Coffee: Multi-location specialty coffee and pastry café operator with an emphasis on sourcing quality and craft preparation. Comparable on product mix (coffee + pastries), neighborhood café format, and premium positioning strategy.
• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee roaster with cafés in multiple cities emphasizing direct-trade sourcing. Comparable on the sourcing narrative, multi-location café retail model, and specialty coffee customer demographic.
• Gaslight Coffee Roasters: Chicago-based specialty coffee roaster and café. Comparable as a Chicago-local specialty coffee operator with sourcing-forward positioning, competing for the same neighborhood café customer.
• La Boulangerie Co. Chicago French-inspired bakery-café chain offering similar items (pastries, sandwiches, salads, specialty coffee). Direct competitor on menu overlap, French-inspired positioning, and Chicago neighborhood locations.
• Big Shoulders Coffee: Chicago-based coffee roaster and café operator with multiple locations. Directly comparable as a specialty-coffee-forward Chicago multi-unit café concept serving overlapping neighborhoods and customer profiles.
• La Colombe Coffee Roasters: Specialty coffee roaster operating cafés across multiple U.S. cities with a focus on draft latte and ready-to-drink products alongside traditional café fare. Comparable on multi-unit café operations, specialty beverage menu, and urban retail format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SpokeAndBird
• Facebookfacebook.com/theSpokeAndBird

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about THE SPOKE & BIRD