Pho and eggrolls at the Goat Cà Phê

Goat Ca Phe - A coffee shop with a taste of Vietnam

Contributed By: Taimir Smith

The Goat Cà Phê is a family-owned coffee shop located on 3727 Main St, in East Chicago. The owners, Tracey and Renee Gillis wanted to give the community something different and outside of the everyday fare of chicken, fish, or tacos.

Tracey and Renee have a meticulous vision of comfort and authenticity for the café and their other two businesses on Main Street – a laundromat and a game store.

Main Street is just the beginning of what the Gillis’s hope to bring to the community. Their plan is to create more genuine, welcoming projects for people in the city and for those visiting it.

“We named it Goat Cà Phê because goats climb high, but they stick with their community,” said Renee.

Over the span of a year, Tracey made the café feel like home, from the paintings on the walls all the way down to the chairs. The café has a warm feeling when you walk in. As soon as you enter, they never fail to welcome you.

Not only is the setting authentic, but so is the food. Renee, with some recipes inspired by her Vietnamese heritage, makes unique drinks through trial and error; and will even create a special drink for you based on your taste profile.

All food and drinks are made in-house with fresh ingredients. They do not keep coffee beans for more than two weeks. Their eggrolls are made by the employees.

The Goat Cà Phê has a wide selection of drinks, from lattes to smoothies. The drinks are refreshing, and they feel like home.

Drink options include boba teas, brewed coffees, espressos, frappes/chillers, iced coffees, refreshers, and smoothies. They also offer signature and specialty lattes.

Their basic drink options include apple juice, hot chocolate, loose leaf teas, soda, and water.

They also serve pastries, with the most expensive being the butter croissant at $5.75, which comes plain or with ham or turkey.

Other pastry options include bagels with cream cheese, breakfast danishes, chocolate croissants, cinnamon rolls, and plain or turtle brownies.

The most expensive item on the menu is the pho – Vietnam’s national dish – at $12.95. Its protein options are chicken, meatballs, or sliced ribeye.

The pho bowl comes with broth, cilantro, green onion, rice noodles, and red onion.

The noodles also come with add-ons like bean sprouts, basil, sriracha, lime, hoisin sauce, and jalapeños that you can add to your heart’s content. You get a filling portion of all these savory goods.

Sides or “Small Plates” include Vietnamese eggrolls filled with beef or chicken and vegetables. They also serve gyoza dumplings filled with pork or chicken and vegetables. Both are served with dipping sauce.

Goat Cà Phê is open 7am-4pm Monday through Friday, 8am-4pm Saturday, and closed on Sunday.

Story Posted:07/23/2026