Mercury Cafe

Was it something I said or did? I swear those other coffee shops never meant a thing!
I blame myself for Mercury Café’s closure. I moved out of the neighborhood and they closed a month later. Plus, I only went there a few times a month for the two years I lived just a few blocks away. Please, please come back MC! I will spend every waking hour within your cozy space, and I will order a new, expensive drink every hour.

I used to own the café. Thank you for all the great things you said. And all the snarky ones.
I appreciate all the comments. We provided a huge space, fresh ingredients, and great coffee.
I am a bit amazed at people who been to the café twice, know nothing about it and decide to make random statements.
Café closed because we made no money. People stopped spending. At some points we had the same amount of people and half the revenue.
If you want your favorite establishment open — go and buy something.
In the end, well wishes don’t pay the rent or the heating bill. Nor do the «i know more then you just because i have been there twice» attitude.
It was nice to actually talk to a few awesome people after we closed.
Go on and support your independent businesses if you want them to be open.
giving someone 2 stars after they close is really doesn’t matter that much in the end.

I’ve been here twice, months apart. It’s certainly not a bad place. As everyone else mentioned, it’s like airplane hangar big. (Of course that didn’t stop two chatty teens from taking the table RIGHT NEXT to me last time, despite the place being ⁵⁄₆ empty.)
The Good:
=It’s big.
=The hodge-​podge of furniture (IMO) gives it a nice, relaxed feel. Not sterile and corporate like chain coffee shops.
=Free wi-​fi and power outlets available (at least along the wall, I haven’t sat in the middle of the place yet).
=Good variety of lunch sandwiches.
The Bad:
=Limited selection of chips, baked goods and (non-​coffee) drinks. I couldn’t tell if they didn’t have ice tea or if I just couldn’t get it as part of the sandwich «combo meal».
=Moderately unfriendly staff, from my observations
The So-​So:
=Sandwiches are mediocre.
=The accouterments for your coffee are pretty sparse.
All in all there is more good than bad here. If I lived closer I’d probably go often. But as it stands it’s a bit out of my way and probably not worth the trip.

I’m moving a few blocks away from Mercury Café, so I have scoped it out a few times lately to get a feel for the place where I will inevitably spend too many hours working and reading. It’s decent, but I do hope it gets better over repeated visits.
The obvious draw to Mercury is that it is GIGANTIC. Holy hell, I pretty much get lost in this place. Coffee shop rats are trained from infancy to make due with small, cramped environments where you need to share tables, step over people to plug in your laptop and weave through crowds just to pick up your danish from the counter. Not here. Grab a table and enjoy hours of leg room and quiet. It’s a great place if you’re lining up a long study or writing session.
The points get docked when you get to the counter, however. Every time I’ve been to Mercury I have had to wait at an empty counter for 5 – 10 minutes, only to have my order taken by someone who seems like they would rather not be disturbed. I’m hoping this is just a short string of bad luck, but I haven’t yet been to Mercury Café during a busy period, yet still found myself asking questions to somebody’s back when they see me and go back to making a sandwich or drink without saying hello. It’s a bit discouraging after the fantastic service I’ve gotten at the other coffee shops I’ve been to in Chicago.
The food is not so hot, either. I’ve sampled several of the sweets and a sandwich, and don’t plan to revisit any of them any time soon. My toasted Sorta Italian sandwich took over 20 minutes to prepare and really wasn’t worth the fairly high price tag. Maybe I would have had better luck (and less of a wait) if I had it cold. The red velvet cupcake and cinnamon roll had clearly been out a little too long, and were priced worse than what you’d find at Starbucks.
The drinks, however, are quite good. The coffee is above average and the espresso drinks are well mixed. Definitely something I would refill and sip on for a few hours.
The problems I have with Mercury might have been dealbreakers if it wasn’t so convenient to my new place. I’m hoping that my experiences with the staff are flukes, and that I wind up being embarrassed of this review in the near future. Until then, I would recommend this place if you need somewhere to study for a few hours, but if you want a quick drink and small talk you’d be just as well off heading up to Division and hitting Starbucks or Alliance Bakery.

If this place had air conditioning and I could kick out some of the louder patrons, I’d never leave. When I need to get work done on the weekends or want to read and people-​watch, this is my spot. It’s within walking distance of my house, there’s free wi-​fi, and it’s huge. The girls behind the counter are super-​nice, and the food is decent. I had a delicious caprese sandwich there the other day, and an iced earl grey, and I just got to relaaaaax. That’s my idea of a pleasant Sunday.
The only reason I mention the a/​c is because the place is huge and the only way the air can flow through is from the small front door. There’s no outdoor patio (like Lovely, which has an awesome outdoor patio), and the place can get pretty humid in the summer months. They do have fans but often some douchey patron will move the fan so that it’s pointed directly at him. *facepalm*
I’ve never tried the coffee, since I don’t drink coffee, but the tea/​chai/​italian sodas have all been very good. I resisted the urget to buy a huge red velvet cupcake — but they looked fantastic — and I hear they have milkshakes now. I should stay away, but I know I won’t.

Since I live next door it is always possible that I can be found here in the mornings, drinking the burnt black mud they call coffee, wondering how they’ve never noticed that a gallon of half & half can’t make a 12oz. cup of their house blend any lighter.
It is also my preferred «laundry day» hangout, where i can be found in slippers and bloomers, waiting for my clothes to finish catching on fire in one of Yo-​Yo Coin Laundromat’s unpredictable dryers.
As far as i can tell the space must have at some point been a furniture warehouse or an airplane hangar, now cavernous and strange, mismatched tables and chairs dotting the hardwood like alien shrubbery. Studious youths in fashionable sneakers refresh their Facebook pages incessantly on shiny apple laptops while yoga moms and the occasional sleazy thirtysomething guy look on, disinterested.
Books cover most available surfaces, a portion of the back of the shop converted into a makeshift library/​study area. Flyers for local events, available apartments and Mexican cleaning services vie for space with concert posters and fixed-​gear singles club pamphlets on their ragged bulletin board. «Art» can occasionally be found on the walls, but since a circuit of the place is approximately a three mile walk I doubt anyone has ever looked at all of it in one day.
If you’re under the impression I don’t like Mercury Café, it’s because I have yet to mention the things which DO bring me back, convenience factor aside:
1. Two of the five barista gals are both attractive and friendly, and do not make me feel like shit for coming in looking like Robert Downey Jr’s mugshot.
2. At least half of the items on their menu could be described as «tasty.» Salads, sandwiches, etc. The occasional bagel. That sort of thing.
3. A space this large means I can hunker down over my shitty borrowed laptop and pound out a couple of reviews/​articles/​etc. without being bothered or worrying that someone is stealing all my terribly clever ideas by looking over my shoulder. I’m kidding. I’m an idiot. I just refresh my Facebook page 100 times using their handy free wifi.
Basically, it’s a giant, weird independent coffeehouse which should be open later to accomodate my second shift schedule. The coffee is horrible (I’m sorry but it is) but the staff is not, the patrons are pretty varied and usually fun to watch and there are decent things to eat.
So, you know, maybe you should stop in sometime when you’re taking a break from rampant alcohol abuse and glue sniffing. That’s what I did, and it’s working out just fine.

In doing Unilocal’s Hook and Needle events, I’ve seen the different sizes and shapes of Chicago’s coffeehouses. Some are tiny and built in storefronts while other occupy entire houses. Mercury Café is a nice mix of the two-​a former department store space. Walking in here, the size overwhelmed me. Tables and chairs are everywhere. What’s nice is that there are little groupings which divide up the space and make a larger space more cozy.
The coffee bar itself is located along one of the walls. For my visit, I tried some café au lait. It was a decent cup of coffee. The service on Sunday was extremely sluggish because of the sheer number of people there and a small staff. The sandwiches looked especially delicious. For my next visit, I may try one. Mercury Café is a nice, big coffeehouse to hang out and knit at.

This was the site of our 3^rd crafty Unilocalers event and the first event I created. I’m really on the fence about this place; I don’t love it and I don’t hate it. I guess I nothing’d it.
On the plus side:
+ It’s not Starbucks or another major coffee chain
+ If you’re a coffee drinker they serve Intelligentsia, I’ll take their word that it’s good stuff
+ For a coffee place they have a pretty comprehensive food menu and reasonably priced. I had the Veggie-​cheeso-​licious and it was pretty good.
+ Free wi-​fi
+ It’s huge, the website says it’s over 4000 sq ft, which makes it great for groups. A bookclub was there and was able to save some space to meet.
+ I was able to snag a couch and some chairs rather easily for my fellow Unilocalers.
+ A guy I worked with in undergrad 10 years ago spotted me and said hello. I guess I haven’t changed all that much.
On the minus side:
— The place feels disconnected and disorganized.
— Lack of signage. Me and about 4 other people knew they had free wi-​fi, but couldn’t figure out how to access it. Turns out there was a sign taped to a pillar, if there had been more signs we all wouldn’t have disturbed the barristas while they worked. There also seemed to be a good deal of confusion about what to do with dirty plates
— Confusing food/​drink ordering process. I ordered a sandwich and an iced tea and they asked for my name. However, when my sandwich was ready they just screamed its name, ok. When I got it I was told my iced tea wasn’t ready, but just as I sit down I hear «large iced tea» I go up take it and am seconds away from my first sip to discover it’s someone else’s — this is the point where names come in handy! I returned to my seat to stare at my sandwich and wait for my drink. My iced tea took forever, I think it was 10 minutes before I heard «large iced tea» yelled again. Every time the barrista came to the counter my ears perked up hoping she was calling for me, now I know how my cats feel around feeding time.
— Lack of condiments, etc. I have to have salt and pepper on virtually everything I eat. The condiment station seemed to only have coffee-​related items (sugar, stirs, etc.) so I again had to interrupt the busy barrista for some salt and pepper.
— Lighting. If you don’t sit near the front window it can be rather dark and not in a cozy sort of way.
— Chairs. Many of the table chairs in this place are old folding chairs. Not very comfortable if you plan on spending long hours here studying or working.
We’re returning next month for the 4^th installment of crafty Unilocalers. Given its size and location to public transportation it’s a good choice. Maybe by then I’ll get off the fence and pick a side.

Imagine taking a musty, old-​timey department store space, stripping it down to the bare walls, tacking up some artwork, scattering about a hodgepodge of chairs & tables that look like they were salvaged from the alleys after moving day, and setting up a crude barista station somewhere in the middle of it all. That would pretty much describe the atmosphere of Mercury Café.
The cavernous space has its pluses and minuses — there’s an excellent chance that you’ll always find a place to sit, and there’s plenty of space between tables. However it can be kinda hard to hear them call out when your order is ready, unless you are seated very close to the cashier. And if you are in a far corner of the café, that means realllly far. Perhaps they should invest in a megaphone or two?
The sandwiches & coffee are not bad, and if you’re bored you can peruse a selection of predictably dull, unwanted magazines & books, such as «WordPerfect for Dummies». The crowd is predictably young, the last time I visited I was the only patron with graying hair who wasn’t suffering form some obvious form of social maladjustment/​mental illness.
I wouldn’t consider the Mercury Café to be a «destination» coffee shop, but it’s not a bad choice if you are in the area and in need of food and/​or caffeine.

Blah, I guess I’m not as impressed as everyone else. My first impression of the place — instead of comfy and cozy — was dark and moldy. Yep, it smelled like mold. Not in a weird, bothersome kind of way, but it definitely smelled like a wet attic where you store all of the stuff you don’t care about. Instead of finding the space comfortable, I just thought it was really big and impersonal.
The tea was excellent! I had the Seven Fruit tea and it was divine! I also had a small, mocha vegan cupcake — delish! I don’t think Sundays are the day to go in to Mercury, though. I presume they get baked goods into the shop once a week (maybe twice) but it seems by Sunday everything is gone! There were only two types of vegan cupcakes (very limited quantity) and ONE lonely scone. The rest of the case was completely empty. So if you weren’t in the mood for the cupcake, you were sort of SOL. Oh, did I mention everything was cheap? I got a large cup of excellent tea and a mini cupcake for $ 3. Yum! Most places charge much more for baked goods.
I came here for the Unilocal Knitting group and the space that Mary T. chose was very nice and comfy. A couple of the Unilocalers were sitting on the couch and a few of us on folding chairs. We sort of had our own little area to ourselves so it was nice to not have to be in someone else’s way. There was a book club meeting in the back (awesome!) and we surmised that you’re allowed to call ahead and reserve space for free and they’ll put up a sign for you. Yay!
All in all, I really enjoyed the tea and the food but I don’t think I really enjoyed the space as much as everyone else. I guess I prefer my coffeehouses small, so Mercury just didn’t do it for me. The space is insanely large (they often take the chairs and tables out to make room for dance groups and such) and I can see it filling up very quickly. I’d rather go to a smaller, more intimate place.

This place is freaking huge!
They have tons of seating and books to read. It is kind of like a private library.
The food options include creative sandwiches, soups and snacks. They have your standard coffee house beverages as well. I was here for the Critical mass Art Show and need to go back during regular operating hours to get a better feel.
I really can’t get over how big this place is.

My only gripe against this place is that they serve Tea Essence tea. That rubs me the wrong way. Aside from that, this place is fantastic. It’s such a cozy space and their sandwiches are to die and well priced, and their neverending coffee is a fantastic deal. They always have delicious free samples up and interesting books around and the décor is super comfy.
I come here once a week for my hacker space meeting (
) and they accomodate us happily and politely, even when we stay until closing. I love this place!

To anyone that went to UIUC, Mercury Café reminds me of the Union. There was a ton of random ish going on here at the same time — different Meet-​Up groups, card playing, theater actors gathering, people studying, enjoying coffee and reading the Trib… basically, whatever you can think of! This is a HUGE space w/​tables and chairs of different sizes (and styles!) scattered around the café. There’s absolutely no uniformity or order in this place and I love it! You can go about doing your own thing and no one really cares.
I secured a spot by the wall with the other people working/​studying and noted that there are plenty of outlets to be found. However, the lighting is a little low, so I probably should’ve opted for one of the tables by a floor lamp instead. Also, if you’re looking for quiet, this was NOT quiet on a Thursday night. I mean, I was basically yelling into my cell phone and no one around me could hear my conversation.
I ordered the roast beef sandwich ($ 6) and this thing was ginormous! It had pepper jack cheese, dijon mustard… on ciabatta bread. VERY filling for $ 6. I didn’t try any coffee as I had snuck in a can of Red Bull. (Ghetto, I know.)
I don’t think I’d come back to Mercury to study, but it seems like it’d be a cool place to catch-​up with friends and grab a cup of coffee or something sweet. It also seems like an alternative place to go on a weekend when you don’t feel like hitting up the bars. Also, they have all these flyers for events going on in Chicago, so I really liked that, too. I’ll definitely be back here!

Ok so I completely missed the memo about Brett’s party… but at least the night wasn’t a complete waste, since I was able to cozy up on one of their very comfortable couches in this spacious but lovely café with my dad, for a nice relaxing dinner.
We each had one of their scrumptious signature sandwiches. My dad had their whole Italian sandwich which came with chips and it was humongous! You won’t leave here hungry, that’s for sure, and the prices are very reasonable too. When I saw how huge the sandwich was, I decided to order half a guacamole turkey sandwich and a salad, which was a fantastic choice. Just so you know, the salad was AWESOME! It wasn’t just greens, it was greens with a bunch of veges served up with a home made vinaigrette!
After that we met up with some friends for my monthly reading/​writing workshop, where participants bring in one or two original pieces they’ve written to share with the group. I’m going to start advertising this here in Unilocaldom, since I had a very wonderful time and my dad and I were able to share a creative moment together, so be on the lookout for future literary events from yours truly and my friends at Gothic Funk Nation, here at the marvelous Mercury Café!
P. S. Since Colleen ranted about the gross bathrooms they have greatly improved! Cheers for Unilocal reviews!

I like this place. They have good sandwiches, except I find it weird that they only have giant size salt and pepper shakers. I got a sandwich with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, and think it always needs some salt. Thats not uncommon, right? people salt their tomatoes. Anyway, I had to use the super industrial size ones. A little weird.
Other than that, I like how its so huge, but thats also a little awkward. Like too much space. But the people are friendly, the coffee is good, and its great how you can get half a sandwich and a small salad. More places should do that.

Mercury Café had a totally different vibe when you walk in then most other coffee shops in Chicago, which is good and bad. Its great that they are not trying to be hip — I’ll give them that. But for me it was not what I was expecting. I guess I was hoping for this place to be my new «Filter».
Overall the place just felt old, the smell of old books and the bingo style hall in the back didn’t help that feeling. Yes books, Mercury Café is almost like a mini library. Its really cool you can buy a book if you like. I’m more of a grab a coffee or sandwich and go kinda person so I would never be in here long enough to get into a book. If you have a group of friends you want to sit down with and enjoy a cup of coffee — Mercury is great, I don’t think you will have any issues getting a seat. I guess the place just didn’t have the vibe I want in a coffee shop. I would much rather go down the street to Swim or around the corner to Sip. The coffee at Mercury Café is decent, the sandwiches definitely out shined the coffee.
Having been in a lot of coffee shops in Portland and Seattle that are about the same size as mercury I just feel like the place could be so much more then the old basement feeling place it is.. it has a lot of potential.

I was there for a poetry thing earlier this week. the poetry was nowhere near the style of stuff one would see at Green Mill, Mental Graffiti (at Funky Buddha Lounge), or Urban Sandbox (at Elastic Arts). It’s much more poetry written on a page to be read off the page if that makes any sense.
The Mercury café was pretty cool though. there was a lot of art on the wall, I think for sale. The coffee drinks were good. there’s a lot of tables and chairs in there so you can always find a place to sit if sitting is your thing. The staff was nice.
I understand that they have a lot of different events at this place, and I am sure that many of them are worth attending. It is at least a cool coffee place with a cool ambiance.

First of all, this is a unique little spot for a few reasons…1. it’s huge 2. they have decent food for pretty cheap, 3. they have free refills on in-​house regular coffee, 4. they host scrabble Sundays…
However, the space is a bit… disconnected. it’s so huge… that it almost loses people in it. There is no organization. I think with a little bit of insight, this place could really max their space, and create a warmer, friendlier feeling. It’s sort of dark. And cold. But… like I said, with a little reordering, it could fly.
Food was good, my first round of coffee was a little tepid, not hot at all. The 2^nd round I believe came from a fresh pot, always a bonus. There was some tango dancing lessons going on, a lot of books scattered about and a scrabble meeting/​tourney in the back.
The bathrooms were DISGUSTING. A place loses a lot of points in my book for that.
Otherwise, I think to stop in for lunch/​coffee is a good deal. Very well priced and a nice neighborhood. Parking isn’t too bad…

The first thing that struck me about this place was «OMG, this is huge for a coffee shop». I went there for a discussion with some colleagues and had a good time. The coffee was good and one of my colleagues liked her sandwich.
I love the fact that they were going to have a show that evening. Cool!!!
I hope more people start going here.

This may be my new favorite place to get some work done. It sure beats the starbucks in my neighborhood!
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first walked in because it looks like a huge warehouse… I’ve been informed that it used to be a furniture store, which makes sense once you see the layout. I spent about 5 hours in here today and only 10 people walked in & out of here… it’s probably not good for business, but I enjoyed the peace and quiet. I could actually hear the calls on my cell, which is a problem I often have at Starbucks.
The best part about Mercury Café– free wi fi! I had a bit of trouble signing on at first, but once that was all sorted out I was on my way to hours of free Internet access.
I did grab a soda and sampled a delicious muffin (which I believe was carrot), but besides that I was too full from lunch to try their enticing menu. I’ve heard that their sandwiches are good so I’ll be sure to try one next time! The women behind the counter were super friendly and seemed to know everyone in the coffee shop… I plan on going back often so they should know my name in no time!