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At October Café, owners and married couple Michelle Gonzalez and Audrey Borden embrace authenticity, turning their autumn-inspired love story into a vegan café, all while navigating neighborhood politics. MEET THE CHICAGO COFFEE SHOP WHERE IT’S ALWAYS PUMPKIN SPICE SEASON
I f autumn had its own personal cheering squad, its leaders would be Michelle Gonzalez and Audrey Borden. The two met in October 2019 while in college and got married in October 2023, just a couple of months after opening October Café in Norwood Park on Chicago’s far Northwest Side. “It’s such a cozy season,” Gonzalez said. “The colors, the smells. Pumpkin spice, caramel, apples. Oh, my god. We just love it. It’s the best season. You get to wear your biggest sweater and just feel so cozy. It’s delicious. I love it.” About a week before Starbucks rolled out its Pumpkin Spice Latte for the 2025 season, October Cafe celebrated its second anniversary with face painting and giveaways.. As always, the October Café PSLs will be flowing, as will signature drinks like the Cozy Up Chai Tea Latte and Cuddle Weather (hot chocolate with hazelnut and caramel). And every customer who walks in the door will be greeted with a cheery, “Hello, pumpkin!” Every month, the all-day café with a full menu of vegan fare offers up a different Fall Flight, with four cortado-sized specialty drinks. This month, it’s the Addams Family Flight with Morticia (strawberry, vanilla, raspberry latte), Pugsley (blue-raspberry lemonade), Gomez (coconut, caramel, Sunbutter latte) and Wednesday (ube mocha). “I’m gonna be honest,” Gonzales said. “I don’t like pumpkin spice from other places … Our pumpkin is more of like a pumpkin from the garden type of pumpkin, not like a sweet candy pumpkin because ours actually has pumpkin in it, a pumpkin puree with spices and stuff.” A LOVE STORY, IN COFFEE SHOP FORM Gonzales, 26, comes from a family of entrepreneurs. And Borden, 24, has always loved coffee. They drove by the vacant, 1870s-era storefront just up the hill from the Norwood Park commuter train station one day and thought, What if? “Let’s make a coffee shop based off our love story,” Gonzalez said. “It’s October Café. That’s our month, our season. We love it all.” Just a few years out of college, the two had some reservations about
HEATHER LALLEY
HEATHER.LALLEY@INFORMA.COM
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS OCTOBER 2025
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