Brookfield's Loca Mocha coffee shop mourns death of longtime regular with table tribute

BROOKFIELD – Everyone at Loca Mocha Cafe in Brookfield knew how Robert L. McDonald took his coffee.

Known as "Bob" to his many friends at the cafe, he was a man with a routine.

"He always got coffee every morning with a pastry and always sat down at the same spot," Tracy Halunka, a barista at Loca Mocha said. "Sometimes he got a light roast and sometimes he got [a] highlander with a little cream."

Flowers now adorn McDonald's favorite table at Loca Mocha, complete with a coffee and a pastry, in memory of his death Aug. 15, six weeks after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

He was 70 years old.

Halunka said she remembered McDonald as her favorite dance partner when she graduated from Dominican University in 2014. For the cafe's patrons and employees, they remembered McDonald as a funny, nice guy who was always the first customer to show up when they opened at 5 a.m.

"We knew him since I opened Loca Mocha in 2003," owner Silvia Mancilla said. "So many customers know him; he was part of the family of the Loca Mocha shop. He was the angel of our shop."

According to Marty Serwinski, owner of the nearby Sanctuary Bar and Grill and a friend of McDonald since 1997, his friend kept his spirits high and a smile on his face, even in the face of his diagnosis.

"When he was ill, he went to every person and told them about his situation," Serwinski said. "After he told him he said, 'Don't tell anyone, I want to tell them myself.' It was remarkable how he handled the whole situation."

For the first time in the shop's history, Loca Mocha will close early for the funeral of Robert McDonald.

Services will be held at Adolf Funeral Home, 2921 Harlem Ave., in Berwyn from 2 to 9 p.m. Aug. 19.

Silvia Mancilla said she'll bring plenty of chocolate donuts to the funeral – they were among Bob's favorites.