Name Game Part 1: Funkspiration Behind The Dark Matter Universe

We're doin' it in 3-D today baby! Yeah we're playing the name game here at the Mothership connection and cluing you in to the cats making the cuts that mesmerize, energize, and hypnotize us into our daily do. We're channeling our best George Clinton for the occasion, so throw on your diaper and hop on in! 

Star Lounge

If your brain is permanently set on funkin you're in good company! While over half of our cafes draw their inspiration from a certain Detroit psychedelic tour-de-funk, our original location Star Lounge serves as the genesis and big bang of our Dark Matter universe (Kevin Faige, get at us!). While Star Lounge inherited its name from the previous business in that space, it served as a platform to premier our now-classic iced coffee Chocolate City (which has earned it's own palace on Grand Avenue) and the first Star Child, The Mothership. To this day, Star Lounge continues to stand as an institution of community, creativity, and positivity - just like the crew of whom we draw our inspiration.

Mothership

Pulling triple duty serving as Dark Matter's intergalactic headquarters, roastery AND central office, the Mothership is the home base and vehicle through which we deliver our particular brand of freshly roasted funk to the masses. Here our all-stars roast and bag coffee in the back while we operate a small but always growing to-go service for the public out the front. The Mothership beams good vibes and coffee to every corner of the world so come check it out and melt your brain over it's signature drink, the boozy-sweet Black Magic.

Osmium

Our third location opened in Lakeview in the spring of 2014 and mirrors the psychedelic soulful DMC energy through the incredible artwork of Jason Brammer. The mural spans across the entire length of the cafe, endearingly called "Devil in the Chocolate City". It depicts a sunken, waterlogged world's fair dripping with eyeballs, tentacles, oil spills, and other steampunk machinery. In short? He tore the roof off the sucker. Adorning the opposite wall is an original copy Parliament Osmium record autographed by Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips. While he has nothing to do with the album, it was the only record we had on hand when we met him, so what would you do?

Chocolate City Coffee Palace and Bodega

Bright lights and flashy coffee cold specials serve as the backdrop to this neighborhood watering hole. An essential feature in any city community, bodegas serve as spaces where people can gather to share their own stories and legends. Bathed in classy neon-drenched funk and carrying all the essentials, Chocolate City Coffee Palace is no different. Located in West Town's Grand Ave corridor, the coffee has been flowing in the Bodega since 2019