River City Roasters

Sad, sad, SAD, SAAAAD news… The owner of River City Roasters has officially terminated his lease with the City of Yorkville. Business was hurting due to Route 47 construction.
I am depressed, forlorn, heartbroken, and generally miserable over this development. They now exist only in Wheaton, so imbibing in their delightful beverages and Willy-​Wonka wonderful sandwiches will be limited to my trips to Cantigny — so, like once a year.
You can find me at the bottom of a ravine somewhere, for I am so terribly distraught.
#RIPYorkvilleRCR #NeverForget

I have gone to RCR several times typically for their Salted Caramel Latte. The first time my husband and I went there my coffee was good however his frozen coffee was pretty bad… tasted like watered down coffee so I doubt my husband really cares for the place. I like to buy local as well so I will be back just not frequently (I am a Village Grind girl). My one complaint is they need to clean up the place… every time I have been in there the place looks dirty and is extremely cluttered. I understand at times finances may hinder a complete renovation however it doesn’t cost anything to scrub the floors, clean up the clutter and throw a clean coating of paint on the walls.

Great coffee and staff! Very friendly folks. Tasty single origin coffees!

My Girlfriend and I have been here several times, mostly got coffee and had breakfast one time. The coffee was good and the breakfast was also good. The location is nice, and the place has a small town cozy feel to it. Today we decided to try something from there lunch menu. We both had the RCR Ham Sandwich. That was the best sandwich I have ever had. I want to try the rest of there menu, but I just want to eat the RCR Sandwich.

This place is great! great coffee, great people

Glad we found it! Delightful owner, following his passion, sandwiches (breakfast) were very tasty. We love finding indi coffee roasters/​shops and appreciate supporting them. The location is great…along the river. Now that we know how to get there, we’re looking forward to visiting again!

Great food and coffee. These guys are also very paddler friendly. We are down in Yorkville almost weekly to kayak in the whitewater park and RCR always has great food and friendly welcoming atmosphere.

For the record, I miss The Four Beans Coffeehouse in Batavia. I miss their freshly-​roasted beans and their kindly owners. Since they closed last fall, I have tried several other indie local coffee places. Some were in lovely spaces, most had very nice employees, but all of their coffees sucked. And they weren’t fair trade or roasted on-​site. I recently read about River City Roasters; that they were roasting their own beans and most of the beans were Direct Trade. So, with the Barry Manilow’s «Ready to Take a Chance Again» playing in my head, I made the drive to Yorkville.
It’s not the easiest place to find. From Route 47, head east on Hydraulic Street and then pull into the parking lot immediately before the whitewater park on the left. There are no signs on the street, so you won’t see RCR until you are past it. It’s in the same building as a popcorn shop. Once inside, you will find a small coffeehouse with several booths, a cozy little nook with armchairs and a pair of binoculars for checking out the flora and fauna on the Fox River, and a small room with a few tables and some sound equipment. Local art hangs on the walls. The roaster in the corner is tiny — they roast in small batches, mainly to order, so it’s as fresh as can be. In fact, if you need the coffee for a specific day, you should call ahead because the beans need to sit for 24 hours after roasting to achieve the best flavor. It’s pretty cool to be able to tweak a particular batch for an individual person’s preferences — you can get a darker or lighter roast if you ask. We brought home some Tanzanian Peaberry and some Brazil Santos that was roasted while we waited. My coffee snob husband has really enjoyed the coffee — lots of subtle flavors and nuances.
The chocolate for the hot chocolate is, indeed, made with melted real chocolate, not syrup. We ordered two mochas and a hot chocolate, so there was an entire pitcher filled with little chocolate discs and milk, then steamed to deliciousness. It was the first drinkable mocha I’ve had since my favorite shop closed. We all enjoyed our drinks and the food: a blueberry muffin straight out of the oven and an order of biscuits and gravy (only on Saturdays). The gravy was very mild — a little bland, even, but we liked it. Lots of people came in to pick up orders of the biscuits and gravy, so they must be doing something right.
They have a concise food menu — paninis and a daily pasta dish for lunch; pastries, egg sandwiches and oatmeal for breakfast; biscuits and gravy on Saturdays, and french toast on Sundays. The drink menu is also focused — they don’t have 50 syrup flavors. A couple of lattes, cappucinos, 4 flavors of steamers, hot chocolate, something called a peanut butter cup that I would like to try, and then a demitasse-​sized sipping chocolate. The prices are similar to what other coffeehouses are charging.
The owners are delightful. Erich is clearly following his passion, and he is good at what he does. It looks like they support lots of community events, which is always nice to see. They are open *tons* of hours during the week — it would be an awesome place to park it and work for an afternoon, as it seems quiet and they have wi-​fi. The shop is unpretentious and their products are great. We will be back. Often.

WOW… What a find! I’m completely into the «Buy Local, Keep The Cheer Near» going on in our communities this year.
Cozy, inviting space near the Fox River’s edge in downtown Yorkville. May be hard to find for those not familiar with Yorkville but well worth the efforts.
I tried a Kenya Roast today… very pleased. Will continue to try other roasts and I’m particularly interested in the Peaberry available only in the early months of 2012.
Owner Erich is very personable.
What really blew me away today was the HOT CHOCOLATE! Erich makes this from scratch with Bloomer’s Chocolate pieces (NOT chocolate syrup like all the other places!). Something so simple… done just perfectly!
RCR offers seasonal soups that have received many great comments from others I know. I will continue to pop in and try the other offerings. Looking forward to trying the Biscuits & Gravy (limited availability-​not served everyday).
Only concern for this wonderful business is the competition across the street. Another «café type» business opened up that is basically serving the same menu items and obviously has a large budget. I think that if RVC stays focused on what they do best there won’t be any competition! Do what you do BEST… don’t try and compete with the baked goods across the street. I’ll keep up the RAVE reviews!