Behind The Bar With Alejandro
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.
With his distinct style and friendly personality, Alejandro has become one of Tala’s most recognizable faces. For nearly two years, he’s been a jack of all trades at our Winnetka location—jumping seamlessly from barista, to maintenance, to donut-delivery-driver. He wears many different hats within the company (literally) and looks good while doing it! You may have seen him dropping off donuts in the early morning or greeting guests behind the bar. Wherever he is, Alejandro brings contagious positivity and a welcoming spirit that make him an essential part of our team. We’re excited to share more about who he is — both at Tala and beyond!
Q. What is your position or role at Tala?
I am a barista / shift supervisor. I also do the maintenance on our machines with Stefan, and the donut delivery for Gurnee Donuts to our cafes because I live close to the shop.
Q. How long have you been at Tala?
I’ve been at Tala for a year and a half, it’ll be two years this fall. I started in October of ‘23.
Q. How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn’t know you?
I have a very calm demeanor, some may find me intimidating from the outside with my tattoos and everything, but I’m really not, I’m a teddy bear!
Q. What is your favorite part about working at Tala?
It has to be the people. The clientele and the culture at Tala overall. And the people who work at Tala, it’s the team, really. The team creates the culture, and the clientele loves the culture! Tala has really created something beautiful.
Q. What is your favorite drink to make and to consume?
I love making a 12oz latte with whole milk. And I'm not sure if many of the customers and staff know, but I’m not a big coffee drinker. However, the drink that I absolutely love is a cold brew, and everybody knows that. I would die for Talas cold brew!
Q. What is your favorite memory at Tala?
When Stefan asked me if I’d be interested in learning how to service tech all of our equipment, and I was nervous that I’d never be able to get to his level cause he’s truly one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met!
Q. What do you do when you’re not at work?
Everybody knows this, but cars — my passion is cars. I have pretty much worked on my car from the minute I got it til now. I’ve loved cars since I was a kid. When I was a kid, my first toys as a gift were Hot Wheels cars, and that's one thing that's never changed about me, my love for cars. And now that I’m older, I work on cars. The most beautiful thing for me is when I take care of something, it makes me want to take care of myself too, so it makes me feel really good to take care of my car.
Q. What is one topic that will always get you talking when you’re on bar?
Cars! And I really like talking about culture. Whenever people come in from other countries, especially Spanish speakers, I love talking about their different cultures. But, I really am so social, I’ll talk about anything!
Q. Are you a morning or a night person?
I’m a night person for sure, a night owl 100%. Always have been and always will.
Q. What is your favorite movie and why?
My favorite movie has to be Warrior. It's a mixed martial arts movie, but it’s about family, it's about loyalty, and passion, and those are the most important things to me.
Q. What is a fun fact about yourself?
I think people would never guess this because of how social I am at work. But outside of Tala, I'm a very introverted person. People are very surprised when I tell them that.
Q. How would you describe your style?
I think my style is very rough and rugged. I dress in black like 90% of the time (or wearing his iconic black vest!).
Q. What do you do when you’re not at Tala?
When I'm not at Tala, aside from the car things obviously, I do a lot of side quests. I work in construction with my father, I just started work at a ranch with horses in Gurnee, and I transport exotic cars to Florida every fall. I’m the king of side quests!
Q. What is one thing you wish you were an expert at?
I wish I were a really good chef. I wish I were like Gordon Ramsay's level of cooking. I wish I could cook like that. I love watching cooking shows and stuff like that.
Q. Do you have a secret or obscure talent?
I’m a very good writer, and I can express myself very well on paper. I could write a book!
Q. How would your friends describe you in three words?
Humble, Loyal, and Reserved.
Q. What’s something small that always makes your day better?
Seeing Michael Ocasek (shoutout!). That dude truly has a huge heart. It’s true, I see him and I get happy.
Q. If you had a theme song that played every time you walked into a room, what would it be?
Ni Bien Ni Mal x Bad Bunny
Q. I know you’re really into cars — what’s the car of your dreams and why?
My dream one would be a 1994 Toyota Supra, imported from Japan. Blacked out. In my opinion, that’s Japanese engineering at its finest. Besides its reliability, it’s a supercar.
Q. Do you enjoy working on cars yourself, or is it more about the driving experience for you?
It’s both equally. Because I’ll work on it, then I drive it, and that’s what makes me happy. Both parts can be frustrating, but it’s worth it.
Q. What’s your favorite memory that involves cars — maybe a road trip, a first car, or even a funny mishap?
When I was 5 years old, I got a toy remote Lamborghini, and that was special to me. My favorite memory is when I was driving a Porsche 911 in the rain in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, I felt like I was in a movie; it was so much fun.
Q. If you had a free weekend with no plans, what would we probably find you doing?
Probably taking a solo trip to Starved Rock or Lake Geneva. Just me, my car, and an open road with great music playing in the background.
Q. Who would you say has been the biggest role model or influence in your life?
I think both of my parents are hands down and equally in different ways. My older sister too, just all in their own ways.
Q. What about them inspires you most?
They’re both immigrants, so my dad, even since before I was even born, he worked hard to provide for my family, my mom, and my sisters. Overall, just their hard work. Being a child of immigrants and seeing all that they’ve been through, I just wanna make them proud, and one day I’m sure I will.
Q. Have you ever gotten advice that really stuck with you?
The biggest thing is when it comes to change, it’s not easy, but it's worth it. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Getting out of your comfort zone is when you really change and improve as a person. That’s when you really grow as a person.
Q. Do you consider yourself more of a planner or someone who goes with the flow?
I go with the flow for sure.
Q. What’s a goal you’re working toward right now, big or small?
A goal that i’ve always had is just to get in a lot better shape.
Q. If you could teach someone one skill or lesson, what would it be?
Anything mechanical, really. As simple as changing a tire, it's not that hard, really. You do it one time and you’re good! It’s more useful than people might think.
Q. What’s a song that you’re ALWAYS playing at work?
I always play All I need by Radiohead, that’s a hell of a song right there.
Q. Ten years from now, what do you hope people will say about you?
You’ve got a badass car.” I just want everyone around me to be proud of me and to watch me overcome battles. The people who know me and see my struggles, I want them to watch me overcome them and to be able to say that I overcame them, and for everyone to be proud of me.
Q. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
10 years from now, I see myself owning a huge Peterbilt truck. Owning and driving a Peterbilt and hopefully becoming a car hauler, transporting cars all over Illinois and surrounding states!
Q: If you absolutely had to sing karaoke, what would be your go-to song?
It has to be How Deep Is Your Love by the Bee Gees.
Q: What has made you smile recently?
Honestly, lately I've had a big support system. So is my family, my friends, and everyone at Tala Coffee Roasters! The people around me really help me out!
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.