Arshad “Sony” Javid says he started on caffeine when he was 11 months old. He loves coffee. It fuels him from the moment he gets up, and it remains his obsession seven days a week as he oversees his growing java empire, the Cafe Descartes chain, which includes a new roasting facility and coffeehouse in Rogers Park, five coffee stands on the UIC campus, and one stand at Northeastern Illinois University. Until last month, his pride and joy was his flagship Lincoln Avenue coffee shop, but he closed that location Thanksgiving weekend after waging a two-year battle with the Starbucks across the street.
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Javid, who was born in Pakistan to parents who were coffee and tea wholesalers, emigrated to the U.S. in the mid-80s, settling in Seattle, home of his future rival. While a business and philosophy student at the University of Washington, he hung out in a ramshackle coffeehouse called the Last Exit, contemplating where he might fit in in his new world. Learning there was a large Pakistani community in Chicago, he transferred to UIC in 1989 and, while still a student, decided to stake his claim in coffee, selecting the name Cafe Descartes to go with his motto, “I drink therefore I am.”
He stood his ground, taking pride in the fact his cafe’s copper-toned decor and giant wall mural stood out from the cookie-cutter design of Starbucks locations. He says that he was drawn to Rogers Park by the diversity of the neighborhood rather than economic troubles. “Rogers Park is the greatest community, and the people who walk into here are happier,” says Javid. “Things like that are more important to me than people who just act like they’re rushing to their 8 to 5 job. Everyone knows me at UIC and I like that feeling, and I get that here more than in Lincoln Park.”
Cafe Descartes is at 1355 W. Lunt (773-262-7860).
