Pilsen deserves a third space that is loud with life (but perfect for a quiet cup of joe). A place that is safe for queers, punks, weirdos, artists, and neighbors, and unapologetically community-owned. Corporate coffee chains and soulless investors aren’t going to make that happen… but we will! 

We’re building Lucid Dream, a worker-owned cafe and community space created by baristas and artists who’ve been pouring coffee in Pilsen for the past four years. Our dream is simple but revolutionary: keep coffee in the hands of the people who make it, and use it to fuel art, resistance, and belonging in Chicago.

Seize the beans of production!

Lucid Dream is a little more than your standard cafe. It’s a home for queer joy, a headquarters of radical energy, and hub for neighborhood connection. We’ve already seen what’s possible: as baristas, we made our old cafe (if you know, you know) a safe haven for stoners, queers, dolls, activists, immigrants, and misfits. It was a true third space - not home, not work - but the kind of community people like us need to survive in this city. 

Now, with our own co-op, we’ll take it further. No bosses from other neighborhoods. No outside investors calling the shots.

Just workers, neighbors, and community keeping it alive together.