Life & Work with Angelica Acebedo-Frint of Magnifico Coffee Roasters

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angelica Acebedo-Frint.

Hi Angelica, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today. 
When we created MAGNIFICO COFFEE ROASTERS, we knew we wanted to be far more than a Colombian coffee company. Our dream was to create a Colombian coffee experience—a way to connect our customers not only with the best specialty coffee and our family’s favorite baked goods but also with the beauty of our country and its rich and exciting culture. Not just the Colombia you see on movie screens! 

Family is at the heart of Magnifico Coffee, so to celebrate our Colombian heritage, our entire brand story was inspired by our grandmother, Elivira ‘Viri’ Guzman Gil-Rey. We are intentional with our choices; for example, we wanted to celebrate some of the traditions we had growing up, like having Tinto (drip coffee) with a little Pan de Bono or Almojabana or dipping a piece of bread in a “cafe con leche with lots of sugar,” which was my grandma’s favorite. This memory and our experience growing up is what is helping drive our Colombian baked goods program. We plan to have an ever-changing menu so we can continue to share our favorites with our Avondale community. 

We are also celebrating our Colombian culture through small surprises when we ship our coffee. For example, we will include Chocolatina Jet, BomBom boom &/or other Colombian treats we grew up enjoying as a family. 

And last but not least, we are excited to showcase our family traditions, Colombia, its people, art, music, etc., through editorials stories online, through video, and perhaps future short-run print publications. We are also super excited to help educate our neighbors and customers about our coffee/roasting passion as well as our beautiful country, Colombia! 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenge we faced was during the construction of our storefront. We underestimated the high-construction cost and had to deal with shifting timelines. But at the end of the day, we were able to open a bit later than we anticipated but came out feeling really proud of what accomplished as a family. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
ABOUT THE MAGNIFICO TEAM: 

As a family we used all of our skills and expertise to bring this new venture to life. 

RICARDO ACEBEDO-DIAZ 

Co-Owner and Master Roaster 

He has a degree in International Business and double Master’s degree in Business and IT. 

Ricardo has an incredible mind and palette when it comes to developing each coffee profile and deep knowledge in sourcing the best specialty-green coffee directly from the farms. We are very proud that we are sourcing coffee from Colombian Women-Owned Farms. 

Angelica Acebedo-Frint 

Co-Owner (& younger sister :)!) 

Creative Director with over 16 years of experience in branding, marketing, and design leading all business and creative efforts to market Magnifico Coffee Roasters. 

Marisol Acebedo Fisher 

Marisol is our older sister who led the construction and overall design of the shop. She has over 20+ years of experience in the design and hospitality industry. 

Adam Frint 

Adam Frint (Angelica’s husband) is a Creative Director, Photographer, and Illustrator and has been creating brands for over 15 years. We were excited that he was able to bring our family’s vision and heritage to life with the Magnifico Brand, from naming, logo, packaging to the design of our beautiful hand-painting mural on our wall highlighting the beauty of our Colombian flowers as well as the owls from our grandmother’s paintings. 

Gloria Diaz (Mom& Architect) and Tarcisio Acebedo (Dad & Civil Engineer) also helped during the planning and construction by consulting with us through the entire process. 

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
– We lead from the heart and are dedicated to not only serve the best specialty coffee but offer an experience that allows us to genuinely connect with our community and share the best of our Colombian culture. 

– We are connecting with farms that align with our family values and are committed to honor their hard work by roasting single-origin coffees. 

– Family is at the heart of Magnifico Coffee, so it is important that we don’t offer a transactional experience. We want to hold space to connect and have conversations with our community and guests. 

Below are some quotes from our customers that makes us so proud of the work that we are doing. 

One of the reasons I love your coffee shop so much is that I’m barely on my phone when I’m there. I’m enjoying a conversation with you all and you all hold space for true hospitality and care. It’s the type of place that allows you to breathe and be and geek out on really good coffee ☕️😎 thanks for doing what you do! Keep it up!” 

“I’m so happy that Magnifico opened down the street from our home. The owners and staff are incredibly friendly and it’s easy to see that they are genuinely passionate about creating a great experience for their customers. The cafe is really well designed, and the coffee is delicious—what more could you want from a cafe?” 

“Just went in for an afternoon pick me up! Adam and his family are awesome! Everyone who works there is so so so sweet! They took the time to get to know all their customers and explain their coffee! And the latte was absolutely delicious.” 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.magnificocoffee.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magnifico_coffee_roasters/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/magnifico-coffee-roasters-chicago

Image Credits
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/iqhfav2r0hvw6zdhohfag/h?dl=0&rlkey=9az7dxq7r2hwqvh7ijx06dvdo