A future home in Chicago

Slovak goods, family recipes and a place to gather.

Šerpa Dom is a family-run Slovak pantry and community space in the making. A place to meet, shop and learn, with the door open to everyone.

Support the project Read the story

Chicago, ILFamily businessOpening date: stay tuned

Sunset over the snowy High Tatras mountains behind a Slovak village

Dom means home

Chicago has a lot. It doesn't have a Slovak corner store anymore.

No Slovak or Czech shop, no bakery, no place to sit down together. Šerpa Dom wants to bring that back: the ingredients that make a dish taste just like it did in Slovakia, and the people who know how to make it.

Meet

stretnúť sa

A space where neighbors share skills, family recipes and talents. Anyone can bring a story, a skill or even fill a shelf. Slovak roots at the center, and room for everyone else at the table.

Language practice
Book group
Recipe swaps

Shop

nakúpiť

No more searching all over town for the one thing a recipe needs. Snacks, jam, baking supplies, kitchen tools and more.

Learn

naučiť sa

Hands-on skills like sewing, bread, woodworking and crafts, taught by the community at prices people can actually afford.

Slovak and Czech wafers and chocolate bars — Lina, Horalky, Kofila, Mäta, Mila and Kávenky — on a woven striped towel — **The wafer aisle**Horalky, Kofila, Mila, Kávenky, Mäta. The good stuff.

From the pantry · shop coming soon

A taste of what's on the shelves

Familiar treats, hard-to-find staples and the little things from back home. The online shop isn't open yet, so follow along to hear first.

A jar of wild lingonberry sauce with bread rolls on a woven towel — **Jams & preserves**Wild lingonberry, for Sunday dinners and fresh rolls.

Mila and Kofila bars on a red, black and gold woven cloth — **Snacks for the road**Mila & Kofila: the classic pair from the kiosk.

Channel Š · 1952

Intermission

"Speed it up a little!"

Every Lucy needs an Ethel. Help us wrap the candy before it rolls off the belt. Miss three and, well, you know what Lucy would do with them.

The belt is quiet. Press start when you're ready.

Wrapped 0 · Slipped by 0/3

Clouds over the Tatra mountains and a wooden treetop walkway through pine forest

A clear mountain lake ringed by pines under the Tatras

Snapshots from Slovakia, the place that inspired it all.

About us

Hi, I'm Sable. Ahoj!

I'm a Slovak American living in Chicago, and Šerpa Dom is my family's project. I know I can't be the only one who wants to make that special meal and ends up searching all over for the ingredients that make it taste just like it does in Slovakia.

I was homeschooled, and a lot of what I learned was hands-on: sewing, baking bread, refinishing wood on a Tuesday afternoon. Not everyone got that, and the classes around Chicagoland can be expensive. I'd like Šerpa Dom to keep sharing knowledge cheap, so we can all learn from each other.

I'm also not a writer, so everything here is in my own voice, typos and all. I'm doing my best. It might not work out, but there's only one way to find out. So let's jump. (Metaphorically. I'm afraid of heights.)

We all could do a lot better in this world if we learned a little bit more about each other.Sable, founder

None of this happens without a village: the friends and family who help with advice, skills and shoulders to lean on. If you've read this far, thank you. That's already a gift.

— Sable & family

Ethel, a fluffy brown and white dog, sitting alert on the couch

Head of Greetings

Staff profile

Meet Ethel.

Every good shop needs someone to greet you at the door, and that's Ethel. She supervises every product photo shoot, inspects every delivery and will happily accept a scratch behind the ears as payment.

Role: Chief morale officer
Specialty: Floor crumb patrol
Favorite: Whoever has rožky

Help build it

Every coffee, follow and share gets us closer to opening the door.

If you can chip in, thank you. If you can't right now, following along and sharing helps just as much.

Buy me a coffee

Coffee is my favorite, but every dollar goes to the project, not just the coffee.

Chip in →

Read the Substack

Follow the whole journey, from the first shelf to the first open door, written in my own voice.

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Follow along

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Got a recipe, a skill or a question?

Want to share a family recipe, teach a class, or tell us what you can't find in Chicago? Write us. Whatever is clever.

hello@serpadom.com