Homemade syrups, Counter Culture beans, and a bright neighborhood third space. Wendy Onofre-Shah opened LVL UP Coffee at 70 E. Pershing Road in April 2025. A first-generation Mexican American attorney and West Lawn native, she built the café as a welcoming third space south of Pershing with Architecture for Public Benefit. The shop uses Counter Culture Coffee beans and makes syrups in-house; specialty drinks rotate (examples from opening coverage: L. dorado with brown butter and turmeric; Girasol latte with sunflower butter, cardamom, cinnamon, and honey). The program emphasizes pour-over and espresso drinks, teas and tea lattes, and community programming such as coffee education and a monthly book club. Tagline from the shop’s public materials: coffee for the South Side by the South Side.