Culture is Key at the CTRL Z Cafe in Chicago

Howard Bryman | August 14, 2025

Inside the new CTRL Z coffee shop in Chicago. All images courtesy of CTRL Z.

The first brick-and-mortar coffee shop by roaster CTRL Z Coffee is now open on Chicago’s South Side, keying deeply into the coffees and flavors of the Philippines.

Inside the warm, modern 400-square-foot cafe, natural wood tones abound through flooring and furniture. Stump-like wooden stools convey a grounded sensibility and encourage social interaction, while classic leather-topped metal stools lining the window counter invite people-watching.

The coffee and food menu is in part inspired by CTRL Z founder Zandro Zafra’s life in the Philippines before he came to the United States at the age of 16. Coffees are sourced from the Philippines — including offerings of the rare liberica species — while baked goods include pan de coco and pan de ube and ube crinkles.

“My recent visit to the Philippines when my grandmother passed away also became an R&D study on Philippines coffee culture,” Zafra told Daily Coffee News. “It opened my eyes to the way Filipinos enjoy their coffee. For example, the Spanish Latte is big in the Philippines, which is an iced latte with condensed milk that we incorporated in our menu as well. We put our own twist to it by using either liberica beans or the normal bean of the week that’s on rotation.”

A Synesso S200 espresso machine paired with a Mahlkönig Peak grinder anchors the barista station, while dual Niche Zero grinders stand by for single-origin espresso, decaf espresso and manual pourovers.

“Philippines-grown liberica is what we aim to educate people with, but we usually have Ethiopia washed in our hopper as our daily coffee,” said Zafra. “I like to have a rotation of coffee selections. When budget allows, I try to have at least four origins of coffee.”

Zafra founded CTRL Z in 2019, growing the business with support from a Chicago business incubator. In 2023, Zafra opened Mano Modern Cafe in Chicago’s Noble Square neighborhood, offering counter service for Filipino-inspired bites and beverages, with CTRL Z naturally being the coffee supplier. In May of this year Zafra launched Kapwa Bakery in Niles, which now keeps the CTRL Z shop stocked with sweet treats.

For roasting, Zafra buys time and sometimes production labor from fellow Chicagoland companies Ten Drops Coffee and Magnifico Coffee.

“We’re fairly new in the coffee roasting scene so there’s a lot for me to still learn from other roasters,” said Zafra, who works with importers such as Trabocca, Honduras Coffee Alliance and Genuine Origin for green coffee. “I’m pretty open to different coffees.”

The new Bridgeport neighborhood cafe is designed to serve as a “slow bar” that encourages engagement. It is also intended to serve as a coffee lab for tastings for wholesale clients.

Prior to CTRL Z, Zafra ran a wedding photography business. He would rely on specialty coffee for energy boosts during long events, while spending significant time in coffee shops doing photo editing. When the COVID-19 pandemic essentially halted his social gathering-based business, Zafra pivoted to coffee professionally, launching CTRL Z as a homemade cold brew delivery service.

Now running a cafe of his own, Zafra welcomes all customers inside, whether they’re carrying a laptop or not.

“I don’t discourage working from coffee shops. I still do it from time to time. I genuinely believe it’s a good way to meet people, potential clients and perhaps others in media that you can work with in the future,” said Zafra. “But after doing it for almost a decade, it made me want to have a space I can offer to people that’s geared towards socializing and catching up with your friends and enjoying your coffee.”