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Elmer Fajardo Pacheco

Elmer Fajardo Pacheco

Farmer, Co-Founder & Co-Owner , Anticonquista Café

Elmer Fajardo Pacheco was born in Esquipulas, Guatemala and raised in Aldea Valle de Jesús, located on the Guatemalan and Honduran border, where he worked in the coffee fincas with his dad since age seven. Immigrating to Chicago at age 17 in 2011, Elmer spent over a decade working undocumented in Chicago’s restaurant industry, forming Anticonquista Café with partner and spouse Lauren Reese in 2019.

Fajardo and Reese began importing and roasting coffee together sourced from Fajardo’s farm for their coffee bike in 2020, vending in Chicago’s neighborhoods and markets. Anticonquista Café opened their first brick-and-mortar in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood March of 2025. Anticonquista Café advocates for advancing farmers to the forefront of the coffee industry & closing the gap between coffee farmers and U.S. consumers.

Committed to Diversity and Inclusion: Elmer Fajardo Pacheco enriches our conference with their experience a coffee farmer in Guatemala

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