Behind The Bar With Alo
Our “Behind The Bar'“ series highlights one of our team members, celebrating their unique contribution to the Tala experience. We believe the connection across the bar can be meaningful and impactful. Our team puts a smile on the faces of so many each day by simply serving delicious beverages and being an authentic presence in each person’s day. Learn more about what makes each person on the Tala Team unique with this personal interview.
Alo has been a quintessential member of the Highwood team since August of 2023. With her bubbly personality and playful spirit, Alo makes a friend in everyone she meets both behind, and across the bar. You can often find her chatting with customers with a big smile on her face, playing fun tunes in the cafe, or enjoying her daily mug of drip in the early hours of the morning.
Q. What is your role at Tala?
I’m a barista at the Highwood location.
Q. How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn't know you?
I would say that I’m a girl’s girl, I’m a friend, and I love to laugh. I'm either laughing with you, at you, or making you laugh.
Q. What has been your favorite part about working in coffee?
I think it's communal, I'm very big on community and I think that working in coffee, and having coffee with someone is very much based on community. It’s just “having a cup of joe with someone” if you will.
Q. Do you have a favorite memory of working at tala?
I don’t know if I have a specific one but I really love a busy Saturday where everyone is locked in, I am notorious for playing the Shrek soundtrack when I need to lock in on a busy Saturday, so guess that’s it. If Smash Mouth is playing, I’m good to go.
Q. What is your favorite drink to make?
I love making a cappuccino, I think that a whole cappuccino is the best thing ever. If you can steam the milk really well and get some good latte art out of it, people are really impressed by it. I think that it’s my favorite drink to make but it’s also one of my favorites to drink.
Q. What is your favorite drink to consume?
I have moods – usually, I start with just drip if I'm opening just to wake myself up. And then depending on how busy we are I drink cold brew. If I want a more fun drink, I’m really into the dirty hippie these days, it’s low-key underrated. My favorite drink honestly just rotates, but obviously a good cappuccino.
*added later* cappuccino is my standard but if I need something really warm or hot I love a London Fog with lavender.
Q. What’s your favorite “secret menu item” to make?
It used to be the passion fruit mango tonic syrup with the china breakfast iced tea, or an Arnold Palmer. Right now, it's a matcha with Coquito syrup and coconut milk.
Q. What do you do when you're not at work?
I'm usually baking, I love to bake. I love going for a walk/run, depending on my mood, today was a walk. I just love to cook as well.
Q. What is your favorite thing to cook/bake?
My favorite thing to bake is cookies, or I really like baking a cake but I crash out if it goes really badly.
Q What is one topic that will always get you talking when you’re on bar?
I'm a yapper, I can talk about anything. And Wicked, I love Wicked. History, I love history, especially the history of food is really interesting to me. Literally anything, like the other day, someone was talking about scarves and we had a 10 minute conversation about what a scarf can do for an outfit.
Q. What’s a fun fact about yourself?
I’m learning Scottish Gaelic, I was literally on Duolingo before this. I love languages. I’m pretty deep in the learning process, I understand a lot. Also, my memory is insane, I have a really good memory. Like, if you tell me your name once, it’s there forever
Q. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
*immediately answers* Vietnam! I’ve been thinking about it a lot, I would love to do a food tour. I’d love to do it by city, by town and I feel like that's been on my mind lately. I would say Scotland but I’m going there in May.
Q. What is your favorite movIe and why?
Steel Magnolias or I love the Bird Cage. It’s one of my favorites, it’s really funny. I love that one, I love Robin Williams. Or Little Women, I love anything with women.
Q. How would you describe your style, and what can we always catch you wearing behind the bar?
It’s kinda all over the place, depending on what kind of mood I wake up in. I feel like it's giving curated – a lot of my stuff is thrifted, I also love a jacket. You can always catch me wearing a fun jacket, like fun outerwear.
Q. What is your favorite quality about yourself?
I feel like I don’t take things too seriously, I’m very go-with-the-flow
Q. What’s something you're really bad at?
Making a Gibraltar, I make Grace make them when I get one in the line. I’m also really bad at swimming, I can’t swim. I can float, but I can't swi
Q. What song do you always have on queue at Tala?
I think it’s usually Travelin’ Soldier by the Chicks.
Q. What are you most excited about for the future?
I’m excited for my trip in May, and I’m so excited for the spring. After daylight savings the sun isn't setting at 3pm anymore which is crazy, I’m just really excited for warm weather.
Q. What's something you're really proud of?
I think I’m just really proud of the way that I can make people feel, I don’t think that I tear down people at all, I think that I really bring people up, so I’m proud of the fact that I can be that for people.
Q. What do you wish you were an expert at?
I wish I was an expert on languages. Like imagine you could communicate with everyone, I would be unstoppable.
Q. What is something that you're grateful for?
I’m grateful for the people around me, I think that I have really good people around me, really good friends, great family, and I'm really grateful that I have good people.
Q Who Is the most influential person in your life, or role model
Either my Aunts and my Cousins or my Mom, or Kiki Palmer, she's just everything—she's glowing always and is so well-spoken, so charming, so funny, I want to be her.
Rachel Severyns
Meet Rachel, a friendly face at the Libertyville cafe. Passionate about wearing stripes and her daily cappuccino, she brings her whimsical spirit to the cafe every day. When she’s not behind the bar chatting with customers, you can often find her planning her next European excursion or looking for treasures at a local thrift store.