For ways to save the coast!

A city neighborhood needs its restaurants. And its restaurants need you. We need you. Like so many small businesses across the country, the Covid Recession has hit The 3rd Coast hard. Infact, we’re not sure we’ll make it to our 36th year. So, if you’ve loved our food, and you typically order or dine in once a week, make it twice a week if you can. Tell your neighbors, too. And if you’re able to be more generous still, give a little extra to help us keep our staff cooking you can send us a check. All donations go directly to staff payroll. A giftcard for a first responder or to give your favorite person is another great way to help. This isn’t an easy thing to ask. But we love this neighborhood. We love cooking. And we love our customers. Thank you for being one!!!

Updated hours for the weekend August 29-30, 2020

With protests scheduled for Saturday we hope they remain peaceful! Just in case, we are prepared to save our vintage leaded glass windows!

Cafe hours on Saturday the 29th will be 7am to 3pm and Sunday the 30th we hope 7am to 9pm with a peaceful weekend in Chicago!

Memorial Day

The Unknown Dead

Bravely they laid their all upon the altar, Counting as naught the sacrifice and pain, Theirs but to do and die without a falter— Ours to enjoy the victory and the gain. – Elizabeth Robbins Berry

We wrote this last year and it still stands, more so than ever.

On this Memorial Day, our thoughts are turned to the incredible sacrifice made by those who have answered that final call—hopefully, from a grateful, thoughtful and prudent nation.

—Grateful to those who have already paid that ultimate price on our behalf; and for those who stand ready and willing, but have yet to pay it.

—Thoughtful about the very need to ask our brothers and sisters, moms and dads or friends and neighbors to make such a monumental sacrifice.

—Prudent in that we must never ask for that sacrifice for anything other than a real-world threat against that grateful nation and for no other reason.

Poem from DiscoverPoetry.com

OMG! With so many things happening we almost forgot!

Happy Birthday to the Coast! Thirty-five years and counting.

With so much going on we almost forgot. Yes, today is the 3rd Coast Café’s birthday; for a long time now we’ve been serving up some Chicago happiness on our little corner of this Gold Coast community. We’re so thankful to be here; to have this neighborhood to call home. So thankful to have the clientele we have, and to meet new folks every day. Without you, there wouldn’t be a Coast.

A special thanks to our first responders for all you do during normal times, but particularly now! Safety first!

Great News!

The rumors are true… We’re back open!

The new normal? For now, our hours will be from 8am to 8pm for online and phone orders only. For phone orders we will ask you to provide a credit card. If you prefer to pay with cash, we will not be making change, so please bring the exact amount. To help facilitate the process our website has new online ordering buttons located on the home page and the menu page. We have added the delivery service GrubHub and ask you continue to please order from us directly when you can. They charge us 30%. As of now we will have only a limited ability to deliver; for those in need, we will help where we can.

Go online to www.3rdcoastcafe.com, hit the Takeout button to see the available menu items. Not all items on our regular menu will be available, however, we’re happy to report, the kitchen will now be serving pizza all day for your binge-watching pleasure. We will continue to add items as we can.

The staff members who will be serving you are all choosing to come to work to support themselves, the Coast and this community. They will follow appropriate safety guidelines, not only here at work, but also in their personal lives, and will not come to work if they feel ill in any way or if they think that they have been compromised in any way. We will stay open as long as we safely can.

Our community will survive, we just need to stay strong and support one another. Thank you for loving 3rd Coast Café!

We're open to any ideas as to how we can best serve you during this crazy time.

Stay safe and healthy,
Janet & Chris

P.S. Mini Scone Update! For those of you suffering withdrawals, those little hunks of heaven will be back soon!

Strange Days Indeed

Yes it’s true, the Coast is temporally closed! I know…crazy…right?

Our thought was to keep the Coast open for takeout and delivery until we could resume dining in. However, after talking it over with the Coast staff, we’ve decided to close the Café for about a week. This decision was not taken lightly, after all, many do consider the Coast to be essential services, but the need for our people to be with their families at this time won out. After the break we’ll resume takeout and delivery service. That’s the plan at this time.

Strange days indeed.

Monday the 17th—Presidents Day.

We’ll be serving our brunch menu from 7 am to 3 pm, followed by our regular menu and dinner specials; closing at 11 pm.

Valentine's Day at the Coast is like Valentine's Day, just not in your face.

Not just for lovers, those not celebrating V-day are welcome too. The Coast will be open regular hours and we'll be taking dinner reservations. 312.649.0730

Coast Super Bowl Schedule

February 2 ( Super Bowl Sunday ) the Coast will be open from 7 am to 3 pm; we will be serving our brunch menu only.

New Year’s Eve/Day Schedule

December 31st - Open 7 am to 3 pm - brunch menu
January 1st - Open 9 am to 3 pm - brunch menu

Closed For Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

To give our staff time with their families, the Coast will be closed Thursday the 28th for Thanksgiving.  We will reopen Friday at 7am.  Have a safe and thankful day.

For those of you who are working Thursday and not able to spend this time with your families—we are truly grateful for all you do to keep our city safe.  Thank you to all the Police, Fire and EMTs, especially all first responders for your service!

A special thank you to all of our customers who love the Coast and have supported us for 34 years!

Photo by Mikkel Bergmann on Unsplash

Veterans Day Again

Yes, Veterans Day is here again.

Another opportunity to think about the many people who have served and still surround us on a daily basis.

Although they come in all shapes and sizes, they all have one big thing in common: they put their lives on the line so that the rest of us didn’t have to.

Whether we support the mission or not, that’s saying something!

Now, they may not be wearing the uniform anymore, so it can be hard to tell who deserves our gratitude: many are now first responders, the doctor your kids see when they are sick or, sadly, the homeless guy on the corner…

The VA recently released a report showing that approximately 60,000 veterans died by suicide between 2008 and 2017, with no let-up in sight, despite suicide prevention supposedly being the VA's top priority.

According to the VA's 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, more than 6,000 veterans die by suicide annually, now about 17 suicides per day.

Just something to think about while we enjoy the weekend.

Labor Day At The Coast

The Café will be open Labor Day, September 2, 2019, from 7am to 3pm. We will be serving our brunch menu.

4th of July Schedule

4th of July at the Coast

The Café will be serving our brunch menu from 9 am to 2 pm and will close at 3 pm.
Have a great 4th!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: the kitchen will be open from 7 am to 9 pm; the Café will close a 10 pm.

Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, our thoughts are turned to the incredible sacrifice made by those who have answered that final call—hopefully, from a grateful, thoughtful and prudent nation.

—Grateful to those who have already paid that ultimate price on our behalf; and for those who stand ready and willing, but have yet to pay it.

—Thoughtful about the very need to ask our brothers and sisters, moms and dads or friends and neighbors to make such a monumental sacrifice.

—Prudent in that we must never ask for that sacrifice for anything other than a real-world threat against that grateful nation and for no other reason.

Cool New Art With A Special Twist

All proceeds from the sale of Esperanza School art will go to the continued mission of the school.

Neither a mommy with her cubs nor a mommy with her kids should ever be toyed with.  Both are exceedingly dangerous when provoked, especially when  protecting their young.

Almost fifty years ago, Guadalupe Reyes, a Chicago mother, searched high and low for appropriate services for her son with disabilities. 

She couldn't find what she was looking for.

So… With a clear vision and dream for her own child’s future, she created a place where families like hers could find the academic and developmental services that just weren't available anywhere else.

The Esperanza School is the outcome of her effort: now the educational program for Esperanza Community Services, located in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago.

Esperanza School focuses on students with severe disabilities whose special needs and maladaptive behaviors are too significant to be serviced in the public school setting.

Read More

Help yourself to some cool art and help some cool kids in the process!

Image by Thomas Lefebvre, from Unsplash.

2018 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

Every day, we work hard to share with you – our loyal Coast family, along with our new guests – the passion we have for crafting and serving a great tasting and satisfying fare; for providing friendly, attentive service and for exuding that special, one of a kind, 3rd Coast Café ambiance.

Thank you to each member of the Café staff for your hard work, your dedication – for always giving that little extra something that it takes to receive this kind of acknowledgement! That little extra something that makes the Coast, the Coast. You made this happen... again.

Thank you to all who choose to come into our establishment, spend your time and money, then take the time to write a review about your experience.

 3rd Coast Café

Holiday Schedule

Our wish for you is a safe and happy holiday season!

Holiday Schedule

Dec 22 - 23 — 7am to 3pm
Dec 24 - 25 — Closed
Dec 26 - 31 — 7am to 3pm
New Years Day — 9am to 3pm
January 2nd — back to regular hours (7am to 11pm)

Happy (and safe) Thanksgiving!

Once again, we will be closed for Thanksgiving.

There sure are a lot of negative things happening in this world on a daily basis, but there is still much to be thankful for.

And we are indeed thankful for many things.

For example: At the Coast, we are thankful to have a great team of talented people that we get to work with everyday, as we create that one-of-a-kind Coast experience for our customers.

Another example is our wonderful customers (Coasters?). Thank you!

Thanksgiving is about being thankful, and is usually focused on family and friends. Those talented people mentioned above have families and friends, too, and that is the reason we’ll be closed.

But don’t fret, we’ll be back Friday with our regular schedule.

Also, a HUGE shout out to all of the First Responders (Police, Fire and Medical) that are part of our Coast family. You know, the ones that rush in, while everyone else is rushing out?

Thank you!

Love-up on a Vet today

Another year, and another Veterans Day.

These Americans have done the heavy lifting, so you and I can enjoy our lives, doing what we choose to do. Freedom to choose the life we want to live, in part, is the fruit of a strong military, and these folks are it's backbone.

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. That someone wasn't me. I didn't volunteer. I haven't seen the horrors of war.

But I have friends that have.

One life-long friend, is a retired special forces operator. He was the tip of the spear during the first gulf war and has a bronze star, among many other citations, for his exemplary performance.

He is a good father, a good husband and a good friend.

And on our behalf, he was a great killer.

Something he still has to deal with, and with little support from the VA.

It has been a long, hard road back from Iraq for my friend, and he almost didn't make it. It took a lot of hard work on his part, and the love of his friends and family, to pull him through.

Maybe if we'd loved-up on David Long, he wouldn't have felt the need to hurt people at the Borderline.

Now, this is not the place for a rant about how the VA, is or is not, doing it's job, or that some 21 veterans commit suicide everyday; but this is the place where, we at the Coast, can express our deep appreciation for their service on our behalf.

Thank you!

Love-up on a Vet today—and everyday.