New Location: Lincoln Cafe and Market

Bartleby’s was born in my home kitchen 4 years ago, but very quickly I started running out of freezer space, counter space, ways to keep my cat off the counter, my family’s patience. ... Happily, after 5 months I moved into The Hatchery, which was then a brand-new shared kitchen facility creating excitement in Garfield Park.

The Hatchery provided me with countless opportunities I never would have gotten anywhere else, and it truly has been key to Bartleby’s continued existence. But as time went by, commuting there from my home in Albany Park became a real slog. So this past winter I started looking for a new space closer to my neighborhood.

I’m thrilled beyond belief to have found a spot in the kitchen at Lincoln Cafe and Market, a storefront that just opened at 3720 N. Lincoln Ave. in North Center. It‘s owned and operated by Mary Tobias, who I met at The Hatchery when she was making her Glow Superfood ice cream bars out of the shared kitchen there. Mary is kindly sharing her new kitchen at LCAM with us starting on March 21!

Before we leave The Hatchery, where we experienced, learn, and grew so much, we have a lot of people to thank:

Thank you to the operations team at The Hatchery, who taught us how to run production like real professionals and helped us through many, many crises. And thanks also to the marketing team and other support staff who gave us a leg up more times than I can count!

Thank you to the Garfield Park Community Council, which embraced all Hatchery members as welcome participants in the Garfield Park Neighborhood Market and other community events. (That picture up there is our first-ever market booth at the GPNM!)

Thank you to Allies 4 Community Business (formerly Accion) who supported us continually by buying our ice cream for their events, talking us up to tour groups, providing business coaching, and especially accepting us into the Neighborhood Entrepreneurship Lab program.

Finally, thanks to all my fellow entrepreneurs working at The Hatchery, for everything. To our customers, please follow and patronize these businesses located at the Hatchery that we dearly love: Carolyn’s Krisps, Dilly Dally Provisions, Dope Drip Cafe, Five Squared Pizza, J. Spice, Keep It Savory Salt Co., Masa Madre, Plenty Goods, TJ’s Sweets Bar, Trini’s Tasty Pastries, Tubby’s Taste, and many more. They are not just good neighbors but also great cooks and bakers, and I will truly miss being around both the people and their food (though happily a lot of them will be selling their products at Lincoln Cafe and Market too)!

We’ll be at LCAM Tuesday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM, starting March 21. In addition to pickups and deliveries for our online preorders, we’ll be offering mini cakes for sale in a retail freezer in the market and premade full-size cakes that you can walk in and have customized. More details and even more new additions to our business are coming soon!