Rick Romell

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Colectivo Coffee Roasters will open at least two more cafés in Chicago after the popular Milwaukee chain debuts in the Windy City next month.

Colectivo has signed a lease for a location in the Logan Square neighborhood on Chicago’s northwest side, co-owner Lincoln Fowler said Wednesday.

That outlet should open this year. Also on tap is a third café at an undisclosed site. The lease there has yet to be signed, but Fowler said that outlet could open next spring.

Colectivo’s first Chicago café, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, will open on May 22.

The move into Chicago follows the company’s expansion to Madison in 2013. Colectivo has three cafés there.

Started in 1993 as Alterra, Colectivo has grown into the Milwaukee area’s largest locally owned group of coffee cafés. The company also has branched into areas such as beer, baking and live entertainment.

The café in Lincoln Park in Chicago will be Colectivo’s 17th. The firm employs 526 people. Further expansion appears likely.

“We as an organization have to continue to grow, to keep it interesting for ourselves and to keep opportunities for our staffers,” Fowler said. “So I think we’re going to continue to grow like we have previously, in an organic fashion that continues to create opportunities.”

Fowler doesn’t see Colectivo moving into additional geographic markets anytime soon, however.

“Between Madison and Chicago, there’s enough there to keep us busy for many years, so I don’t see growing outside of this region in the immediate future,” he said.