BERWYN – At just 29 years old, Berwyn resident Lissette Tenorio has made her dream of owning her own coffee shop come true.

She’s the proud owner of 1890 Café, which opened June 1 at the Harlem Avenue Metra station in Berwyn. The shop serves a variety of locally roasted coffees and fresh pastries from Berwyn’s Vesecky’s Bakery, and it is open weekday mornings for busy Berwyn commuters.

Tenorio has had a passion for coffee since her father introduced the beverage to her when she was a teenager. She said she knew from then on that she wanted to own her own shop.

“I learned about the different flavors, the different beans and the different smells, and I knew I really wanted to do something with coffee,” she said. “The entire process of how coffee is made is very interesting. When I was in my early 20s, I thought about opening a shop but didn’t have the experience or education.”

After earning a master's degree in business administration from Robert Morris University, Tenorio developed a business plan and approached Berwyn officials about opening a shop in the empty space on the station’s platform. She also commutes from the Harlem Avenue station to Chicago for her full-time job, so she thought the location would be perfect for her coffee shop. She named the shop 1890 because that is the year the train station opened, she said.

“I saw the potential in the Depot District and at that location, so I started networking with Berwyn officials last year,” Tenorio said. “The space had been vacant for a while, and when I presented my plan to Mayor [Robert] Lovero, he was very supportive. My business plan was different than previous owners' because I offer services that they didn’t, like online ordering and convenient hours. I did my homework and researched coffee roasters.”

Tenorio uses coffee beans from Chicago-based Gaslight Coffee Roasters, which she said carries high-quality coffee. She also remodeled the space, turning it into a comfortable atmosphere with seating, electrical outlets and free Wi-Fi, where people can relax and use their electronic devices.

She said so far, business has been excellent and she’s received a lot of positive feedback from the community. She recommends people try the Nitro Cold Brew, which is nitrogen-infused coffee that is dispensed from a kegerator.

“The nitrogen makes the coffee smooth, creamy and rich in flavor, and no one else in Berwyn has it,” Tenorio said. “We also have tea, cappuccino, mocha, lattes and other flavored coffee on the menu, which changes based on the beans we get from Gaslight. People say they really like our coffee.”

Andy Sotiropoulos, president of the Berwyn Development Corp. Board of Directors, helped welcome 1890 Cafe to Berwyn at its May 31 ribbon-cutting ceremony. He said the coffee shop is “amazing.”

“It’s more than just a grab-and-go coffee shop. It’ll also be a great hang-out spot for residents,” he said. “[Tenorio] has done a great job. It’s entrepreneurship at its finest. People are excited there’s a new place to grab a cup of coffee.”

Tenorio hopes to have breakfast sandwiches on the menu soon, but for now, she said she couldn’t be happier with the business’s first few weeks.

“I have to pinch myself because I made a dream come true,” she said. “I worked really hard. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. When I saw this location, I questioned why there wasn’t a coffee shop there, so I decided to open one now instead of waiting until I was older. And I made the right decision.”

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If you go

WHAT: 1890 Café

WHERE: Harlem Avenue Metra station, 7135 W. Windsor Ave., Berwyn

HOURS: 5 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday

INFO: 1890cafe.com