Mayfair Coffee Shop Casa Cactus Closes Over Licensing Snafu, Neighbors Rally to Pay Staff

Casa Cactus, the Mayfair coffee shop known for horchata lattes and café de olla, has been shut since June 26 over a licensing problem with the city, and neighbors have responded by raising almost $10,000 in three days to help the shop's eight employees stay afloat.

The cafe at 4595 N. Elston Ave. is working with the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to obtain a retail food establishment license, a process owner Ozzy Gámez said could stretch on for months. He started a GoFundMe to cover wages for the staff while the shop waits on the paperwork.

"We understand that Casa Cactus is a special place not because of the walls, but because of the people who work there," Gámez said. "Essentially overnight, they have no income coming in."

Gámez opened Plant Shop Chicago at 4601 N. Elston Ave. in 2018. Customers kept asking where they could grab coffee or a quick meal nearby, so in 2023 he opened Casa Cactus directly across the street, aiming for a spot where neighbors could gather.

The trouble started earlier this year when Gámez discovered that employee tax withholdings meant for Casa Cactus' account were mistakenly being paid into the Plant Shop's account instead. The Illinois Department of Revenue told him Casa Cactus had to close on June 26 over the issue. Maura Kownacki, a spokesperson for the department, said taxpayer confidentiality rules prevent the agency from discussing the specifics of any business's compliance.

Gámez said that tax problem got resolved quickly. But on July 1, a city health inspector showed up after someone filed a complaint alleging the cafe had a cockroach infestation. No cockroaches turned up, and Casa Cactus passed the inspection. The visit did turn up a separate problem: the cafe didn't have the correct city business license. Gámez said Casa Cactus had been operating under a state business authorization but never obtained the required license from the city itself.

Elisa Sledzinska, a spokesperson for the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, confirmed Casa Cactus currently lacks a business license and said the shop applied for a retail food establishment license on July 1. "A retail food establishment license includes review from multiple departments so the time period from license application to license issuance varies widely," Sledzinska said in an email.

That open-ended timeline is what pushed Gámez to set up the GoFundMe. The campaign, titled "Support Casa Cactus Staff During Closure," had pulled in close to $10,000 within three days of launching, money Gámez said will go directly to the eight employees left without paychecks.

Beside the horchata lattes and empanadas, the cafe regularly hosts community events and fundraisers. Gámez describes it this way: "I like to describe it as a community space where people gather that just happens to have coffee."

He said staff have been surprised by how much people are willing to give to keep the business going. Regulars and other local business owners have reached out with support since the closure began, according to Gámez.

For now, customers looking for a Casa Cactus fix have one option: the Plant Shop across the street, open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Gámez has been encouraging people to stop in there while they wait.

There's no firm date for when Casa Cactus will reopen. The retail food establishment license requires sign-off from multiple city departments, and Sledzinska's office has not given Gámez a timeline. Gámez said he's confident it will happen eventually.

"I have no doubt in my mind that we will reopen," Gámez said. "I know we will. I just don't know when."