Barista Beats: Winnetka Cafe Playlists
A Spotify Daylist is like a sock lost to the dryer, once perfectly paired but never to be seen again. Barista shifts at Tala in Winnetka are no different. The camaraderie from baristas behind the bar and arguments said in jest often revolve around the shared jam created at the start of shift changeover, bringing an amalgamation of music tastes and aesthetics into one six-hour bender. Maybe, if you’re feeling generous, you might be allowed to play your own playlist on loop with only a few notes added to the queue. Deepest apologies for that one shift, “Waiting Room” by Phoebe Bridgers was queued an unnecessary amount of times.
When they’re not blending bags of Ruca, find out what your Winnetka baristas are blending on Spotify — because you can curate your own coffee-shop-core playlist, too! 🎶
Marcela
An expert at finding last-minute concert tickets, Marcela describes her music taste as such: folk + indie rock + classic rock + hard rock + country + indie pop + r&b + jazz + latin + sad girl indie (shout out Phoebe) — and probably anything and everything under the sun — noting that she "can find something she loves in anything she hears”. Her favorite song to queue on shift is “Wristwatch” by MJ Lenderman, but she’s also known to queue her favorite “performative” (her words, not mine) playlist, “Quiet Indie Cool Girl Vibe Headphones On,” so if you like Addison Rae and want those eponymous vibes, give it a search on Spotify.
Cami
Known for her raucous giggles and boundless energy, Cami curates a coffee shop-specific vibe on shift, tuning into the nostalgia of seasons changing, while remaining true to any and all weather streaming through the bay windows. An Indiana girl at heart, Cami's most notorious daylist is “Oklahoma Country Coastal Cowgirl Thursday Afternoon,” anchored by favorites including Hozier, Zach Bryan, and the grippingly tearful “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac. Her brightest song to play on shift, “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles, acts as a crowd-pleasing classic, welcoming in crowds regardless of the weather.
Justin
You might spot Justin behind the bar sporting some graphic black band tee; he can clock your Metallica music right away, especially if played at 10:00 AM on a Saturday. Justin’s tastes veer towards a blend of hip hop and jazz, anchored by a mainstay of alternative rock but never country; he identifies his music taste by phases. While behind the bar, Justin’s playlists feature artists like Nujabes, Shing02, Sade, and Uyama Hiroto; however, his all-time favorite is Akira Yamaoka. His current music-phase songs include 115 by Elena Siegman, “Luv(sic)” by Nujabes, and Gats by Susuma Hirasawa.
Maira
Co-Manager Maira is a staple of the Winnetka Cafe, bringing stacks upon stacks of latte hearts all without breaking a sweat and flawless eyeliner wings. During the fall, Maira’s seasonal staple songs include “we fell in love in october” by girl in red and any sourced Gilmore Girls playlist that truly captures the vibe. On brand with her description of Tala, Maira likens the vibe of the Winnetka cafe to “Kiss Me” by Sixpence Non The Richer and “There She Goes” by The La’s.
“The reason is because I grew up watching a lot of movies, and every song speaks to me. So when I look out at our cafe, I see students studying and our daily customers coming in every morning, and it just feels like a scene out of a movie. Bright smiles and serving our Winnetka community. And that is what Tala is to me, sweet, beautiful coffee serving our amazing customers.”
Notably, she also likes to turn up the tempo, often queuing Afrobeats with “Enough to get you moving to the beat but still allows you to feel the music smile and go back to cooking dinner.” Her favorite artist of the moment includes “My girl Tems. Every album, every song is just heartfelt,” and absolutely no skips. She also gave special mention to “Move” with Beyonce featuring Tems and Grace Jones.
Jenna
Co-Manager Jenna’s music style entails playing albums in their truest form: from top to bottom. Many shifts have been spent deep in the trenches of Samia, Muna, and Kali Uchis. Jenna describes her music taste as varied by language, with top artists including Fairouz, Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, TUL8TE, SZA, and Fleetwood Mac. For days where one album just won’t do it, Jenna goes with the flow, shuffling the radios of Omar Opollo and Maggie Rogers, maybe with “Me & Mr.Jones” by Amy Winehouse, snuck in – a smattering for a daylist like her “Indie Soul Smooth Groove Thursday Morning.”
Veronika
Veronika, colloquially known as Roni, has three mainstay songs: “400 Lux” by Lorde, “Savior Complex” by Phoebe Bridgers, and “Self Control” by Frank Ocean, creating a mix of indie rock to hyper-pop vibes. Roni’s preferred genres also include R & B, Latin, among many others, depending on her mood. Regardless of curation, for some reason, “You Know What” by N.E.R.D. always finds its way onto the speaker, so if you’ve been wondering, “what is that song?”, this might be the one. The mood is usually a combination of throwbacks, alternative, and a tasteful sprinkle-in of songs from “Roni’s Spotify Dinner Party Mix”, alongside a special queue preference to “4M4Me” by Malcolm Todd.
This barista blend for the Winnetka Café is temperamental to the mood established by the glowing café windows spanning genres and decades. Ultimate challenge, to get each barista to make a Spotify blend together and test their taste profiles, somehow in the queue, it always works..
Mia Rhee
Mia received a BA from Northwestern University and is a contributor at the Chicago Review of Books: she is a firm believer that coffee pairs best with reading.