LINCOLN PARK — With cold temperatures becoming the norm, sitting in a park may already seem like a thing of the past.
Luckily, folks can now head to By The Park, 2342 N. Clark St., a new park-themed bakery and coffee shop that sells handmade baked goods and coffee from Oregan-based Stumptown Roasters.
The shop, which opened Sunday, is named after owner Isabel Carpenter's condo complex, "Belden By The Park." With its picnic tables, tree logo and various natural design elements, Carpenter hopes customers feel like they're sipping coffee in the park.
"I want to create a home away from home [that's] not another Starbucks," Carpenter said. "I modeled it after [a place] where I'd want to go."
After graduating from Smith College in Northampton, Mass., with degrees in economics and mathematics, Carpenter worked as an investment banker for a little while.
It wasn't until she shared homemade baked goods with classmates at her barre fitness class and got a lot of positive feedback that she started considering baking full-time.
"I thought, 'This is the time to do it,'" she said.
So she started hosting events and selling handmade baked goods, eventually planning to open a shop of her own.
After five months of preparation, the bright and airy coffee shop — complete with free WiFi and a kids play area — is now filled with baked goods Carpenter makes herself. That includes cookies like lemon pistachio and chocolate coconut, along with bars and biscotti — all named after famous parks in Chicago and beyond. In addition to Stumptown coffee, customers can order Rishi tea in a variety of flavors.
Carpenter said bakeries always offer chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies so, by using unique ingredients, she hopes to "reinvent" the cookie.
She also has a leg up since she's coming into the baking game with a background in math and science. Baking, Carpenter said, is a science that requires "very precise and logical" steps, which comes naturally to her.
Right now, By The Park is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
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