There is no shortage of coffee houses in the Windy City. From chains to local cafes, there is always an easy place to get your caffeine fix. However, for most baristas and coffee roasters, that is where the job stops—You get in, get your coffee, get out. Matt Matros wanted to create something different when he founded Limitless Coffee in Fulton Market. He wanted his coffee to not just fuel people for their day, but also to inspire them in their work, their play, and their future goals. And with coffee as good as theirs, the possibilities for this inspiration are, well…limitless!
DiningOut Magazine: Tell us the meaning behind your name.
Matros: We believe that human potential is limitless, and we want to inspire and motivate people to exceed their potential in order to be their best self. We want to help by creating clean, caffeinated beverages that fit into people’s lives; this way they have the energy to achieve their goals, day in and day out.
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Why is using pure ingredients so important to the integrity of your coffees and teas?
Our world is filled with toxins and chemicals—in the air we breathe, beverages we drink, and foods we eat. What consumers may not realize is how much makes it into the products they consume. We want to bring consumers the cleanest and purest products possible, by providing a cleaner caffeine option for people who realize what you put into your body is what you get out of it.
How does the sourcing at the farms affect the taste?
There are only a certain places where coffee beans can be grown; this is known as the Coffee Belt. These varying regions and places uniquely affect the taste profiles of the beans. For our coffees, where we source helps shape our bold flavors. For our teas, sourcing directly from Japan ensures the purest matcha powder is used in each batch.
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You then air roast your beans. Tell us about that process.
Air roasting in itself is not a new process, however, what we have done is made it exclusively the only way we roast our beans. Essentially, air roasting works similarly to how popping corn kernels works. The roaster uses indirect heat to roast the beans and a vacuum-like function to siphon out more of the debris and paper-like layers off the coffee instead of burning it onto the product like in traditional roasters. This leaves you with an even cleaner bean and less of the burnt smell and taste that sometimes appear in other coffees.
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People can also get your products to go. Why was it important to offer coffee/tea in various forms?
What is so special about coffee and tea is it can be transformed and used in many ways. So if you can’t stay at our cafes and enjoy your beverage, take it with you! It was important we continue our mission in powering your productivity by offering as many solutions to the on-the-go consumer as possible.
Tell us more about your coffee kegs.
Our keg-to-offices business is really the heart and soul of our operation because it helps us further our mission of powering productivity. We currently are in over 500 offices with our cold brew coffee and matcha green tea on tap. We (or a distribution partner) provide the offices with the kegerator and service and refill the kegs on demand. We can be found in Yelp, Twitter, WeWork, LinkedIn, Netflix, Salesforce, and the Chicago Cubs just to name a few. We have distribution partners in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Indianapolis.
What is your everyday order at Limitless?
This is a tough one. Most of the time it’s a Watermelon Fizzy: watermelon, fresh lemons, and activated charcoal blended together. It’s one of our more unique drinks, but it is so good. I usually go with that paired with our Lox Plate. Our culinary chef developed a simple, yet super delicious whipped scallion cream cheese that I can’t get enough of.
What makes Chicago such a great coffee city?
Chicago has always been a coffee hub. Many people don’t realize that Howard Schultz chose Chicago for the first market for Starbucks outside of Seattle based on coffee consumption data. Much like New York City, there is that need for efficiency, and our climate almost mandates the need for coffee. But on the other side, in communities like Seattle or Portland, you find that Chicago has similar coffee communities. Coffee inherently is a communal activity; and Chicago does a pretty good job at focusing on the craft and the community side of the industry.
You keep expanding and opening new locations here. How do you find the perfect spot?
Coffee is a convenience based business, which is why you see a Starbucks on every corner in some places. Here at Limitless, we try to cater to urban professionals; for us our locations need to be located where these folks can easily get their caffeine fix.
What’s next for Limitless?
Limitless has one more shop on Michigan Avenue that is slated to open up this fall. We’re still in the middle of our national roll-out of our new Lightly Caffeinated Sparkling Waters and are always looking for new, innovative ways to make new, improved products to help our consumers reach their potential.
Aside from your coffee houses, what are some of your favorite Chicago spots?
I’m really close with Rob & Kevin at BOKA Group, so I love going to their spots. Also, RJ and Jerrod from Lettuce Entertain You, they are true visionaries, so I make sure to always support their places, especially Beatrix, which is one of my favorite lunch spots. Lucas and David of DineAmic Group are big supporters of Limitless, so 99 percent of my dining out takes place at these spots.
Interview by Kaleigh Glaza | Online Editor
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