John Kim is Building a Community within a Community at Backlot Coffee in Evanston

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Backlot Coffee founder John Kim is more than a coffee shop owner, he's a community builder, making room for organic engagements in beautiful environments. Our conversation takes place at Backlot Coffee on Central Street, in Evanston, where the walls are activated with art*, every seat is taken and the interior space is friendly, bright and modern. 

John worked with Isaac Bloom, the other Founder, to create a coffee shop based around community, like the infamous shared secret playground in North Evanston called The Backlot.

Today's conversation focuses on why John is making the visual arts such an important part of the experience for customers. We talk extensively about Jay Ryan's mural, photo below, which celebrates the whimsical nature of Jay's work and the joy of finding community in your community.

Backlot also does a tremendous job curating community on social media! Tag photos with #backlot and your photos will appear in their stream and might even show up on their walls!

What's on the horizon? Coffee education....Listen in to learn more.

Learn about Backlot Coffee on their website at backlotcoffee.com

*Recently I started curating the walls at Backlot with Evanston Made artists, a tremendous opportunity for artists to gain exposure and income (Backlot allows artists to sell the work and keep 100% of sales. Reach out to evanstonmade[at]gmail.com for information on showing.)


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The Lisa D Show is a podcast celebrating creatives, featuring 20-minute, unedited conversations that mimic the live-radio vibe, low tech on purpose. Reach out to host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow[at]gmail.com