Coffee, Black and Well Thought-Out

The brew is black, but a transparent brown rings the surface where the light sneaks in. Its aroma is the comforting, sweet, burnt-caramel scent known to anyone who spends much time in a coffee shop. But the flavor is extraordinary, a unique blend of sweet and earthy notes that leaves a light and refreshing feeling in the mouth.

The explosion of flavor from even the simplest of beverages at a coffee shop – the everyday brew – is no accident. At Nothin’ Less, a small coffee shop in Logan Square that opened earlier this year, there is a long process hidden behind even the simplest choices.

“In Europe, coffee is usually different than it is here. We don’t usually add anything to the coffee. That’s why it should taste good,” said Elena Martiniuc, 28, the owner of the shop. Martiniuc said she spent four months debating taste, price and quality before deciding on her everyday brew. It took her just as long to decide on the name of her business.

“It means you deserve nothin’ less than the best,” said Martiniuc. Since her younger days in Moldova, a small eastern European country, Martiniuc knew she wanted to work in the hospitality industry. The decision to come to Chicago was another decision measured in time. After a stint working for Carnival cruise lines and several years as a bartender, Martiniuc decided to open a coffee shop as a first step toward opening her own hotel.

Customers won’t always find her behind the bar, as she is often found sitting in one of the several comfortable seats, including sofas and thatched chairs, some around a remote-controlled fireplace. The music is an eclectic mix of folksy, ethnic, relaxing music. Martiniuc keeps the volume loud enough for all to hear, but quiet enough to have a conversation.

The comfortable seats and more relaxed atmosphere are some of the shops biggest selling points, according to Paul Levin, the executive director of the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce. Levin said he has some business meetings there because “it is quieter and easier to hear each other than in some other coffee shops.”

All of the decisions, from the comfortable seating to the quieter music, is meant to create an alternative and family-friendly atmosphere, said Martiniuc. “There should always be an alternative,” she said, shortly after greeting two regulars by name.

Martiniuc is thin and just that side of short, with chest-length brown hair and slightly crooked glasses. Her eyes always seem busy, measuring, as she talks about calling a customer by name on the street that didn’t even recognize her. Her knack for remembering names, which she brushes off as “just part of the job,” is impressive, as is her mastery of English. Although she says she isn’t confident with the language yet, she speaks it smoothly.

“Once in a while we’ll play Scrabble. I don’t think I’ve ever beaten her,” said Donald Lyle, 63, a regular at the shop. Lyle first went to the shop as a way to get out, but he kept coming for the atmosphere and the friendships he found. Now he even works the bar “in a pinch.”

Martiniuc’s goal to build a family atmosphere that is welcoming to all is not easy, but she said she isn’t trying to please everybody. “I’m just trying to make it as people want it to be. Not everybody, but for my customers, my group of people that are here,” she said.