Photo by Aidan McGuire
White Sheep Cafe baristas Eddie Hernandez and Briyi Castillo are excited to get to know the students on campus, hoping to brighten up their days.
By Aidan McGuire, News Editor, and Nick Stulga, Editor-in-Chief
Something’s brewing in the C building and it’s not just chemicals in beakers from the chemistry majors anymore.
Freshly grounded White Sheep Cafe just opened its doors at the start of this semester. The coffee shop is a scaled-back version of the Orland Park restaurant The White Sheep.
The Moraine location still offers most of the restaurant’s drink options, (coffees, teas, etc.) as well as their signature donuts and mini breakfast items. The White Sheep Cafe is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Eddie Hernandez, 25, the barista who came up with the joint’s strawberry mocha drink and has worked at the main location for nearly a year, will be at the Moraine location. He hopes to create a sense of community within the confines of the shop, hoping students choose them over Starbucks or Dunkin’.
Barista Eddie Hernandez holds out a finished order, while barista Briyi Castillo takes a customer’s order.
“We’re definitely going to try to connect with every student as much as possible that walks in the building,” he said. “[Our purpose] is not just to sell you a cup of coffee. It’s to make sure you’re okay, to make sure you’re having a good morning and starting your day off right.”
On the day of our visit last Thursday, Hernandez was accompanied by Briyi Castillo, who didn’t work at the main location like Hernandez, but is getting acclimated to being a barista.
“It’s something new for me that I’m grateful that I learned,” Castillo said about steaming milk, a skill completely foreign to her when she first started.
Hernandez, on the other hand, has been working with coffee for a while.
“Coffee’s always been my passion,” he said. “I didn’t get into the industry until about four years ago.
“As a kid, I always loved smelling coffee in the morning. I always saw my parents drink a cup of coffee. They would wake up groggy and angry. They would wake up in a mood, and then after they had their cup of coffee, their attitude changes, they’re really bright and cheerful, they have energy.”
Hernandez has built an impressive portfolio of barista experience, having worked in the world’s largest Starbucks, located in downtown Chicago. He is excited to be bringing his barista expertise to Moraine Valley.
“We’re here to bring that brightness into this building that’s already really bright and colorful,” Hernandez said.
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