kibbitznest books, brews & blarney

Unfortunately did not have a great first experience here. In fact, we left feeling uncomfortable and disrespected. My friend and I came in unsure of what exactly the place was but it seemed like a nice “vibey” place to snack and read, like a cafe? bookstore? bar? meeting place? library? No idea lol! We found it on social media. We were stopping by half an hour before our spin pottery class started and had only been there maybe a total of 30 minutes. Half of which we spent looking around at books to purchase and going to the bathroom before a place on a couch finally opened up for us to sit and read. The other fifteen minutes is what I’m about to explain now: We sat listening to the music and looking through our books for not even 10 minutes before a lady with short, blonde hair approached us off-puttingly with “So What is it you’re going to order?”. Mind you, we hadn’t been handed a menu and at the time did not know there was a drink per hour minimum (again, regardless of that, we were sat for less than 10 mins). I’ll just do a back and forth of the exchange. Her tone was sarcastic and condescending and we were genuinely confused as to why. Me: “Sorry, we didn’t know we had to order something right now” Her: “Well, this IS a business” Me: “We’re aware… we just didn’t know what type of place this was. We’ve never been here” Her: “I’m not sure what you’re used to but we are at capacity and would rather have PAYING customers here” My friend: “Oh….kay. Yeah, um we’re actually leaving” and the lady proudly prances off to greet other customers. I was so upset by the interaction, no longer interested in purchasing the things I had in mind, so I went to the bar and asked to speak to someone privately. I already assumed that the blonde woman was likely the manager (She WAS). She walks up with the same snarky demeanor as before but you can tell she didn’t expect to be pulled aside. I just let her know how to properly speak to customers and how incredibly uncomfortable she made us. That it’s not okay to insult potential customers based off of personal dispositions, but luckily for her, she chose someone who will sit her down the way a teacher would a student instead of yelling. It’s just sad how proud she seemed of herself when she treated us that way and even sadder that a new, young customer such as myself would need to breakdown the issue to her. A simple “Hi! How are you? We actually have a food and drink minimum for seating. Here’s our menu so you can get a chance to look” would have gotten the message across just fine that we should order soon. She just stared at her toes and apologized for her approach and for not handling things better and then we left. It just sucks that we thought we found a cool, quaint place but left feeling unwelcome. Although we didn’t get to try anything, the food smelled like it could have been good. I wanted to try the pizza. Also, there seemed to be a lot of things offered there, we just didn’t get to experience that the way others did that night. The music was loud but there were private rooms you could reserve. Anyway, we’re still unsure exactly of what this business is categorized as since no one took the time to explain when asked, but it seems centered around money and lacks overall customer service. The bartender with red hair was nice though! And the nice guys at Jimmy John’s next door really redeemed our experience at this place.

I came across this place at random and I am so jealous of all the locals who have this! I wished there was a place like this in San Diego, CA. I mean books, board games, and drinks?? My absolute dream! My friends and I enjoyed our time here and I’m obsessed with the Palomas. There’s so much seating and board games. It’s such a nice and inviting atmosphere to be enjoyed by all group sizes and ages. Also a really great place to disconnect and just be with everyone. I’ll definitely be returning the next time I’m in the city :)

Warning, not actually a third space. Some friends and I went here last night and were very disappointed. We expected it to be a third space as advertised. We were approached very rudely by a waitress who, when I asked if there was water available, said yes but that “They do expect us to order something.” And then took a tone with us, saying “This IS a bar.” Before seeing if anyone else in my party was going to order something (they were planning on it). We ordered tea… it was burnt. Not only was there not enough seating but there was a whole section in the back with ample seating that was all reserved. I understand prioritizing seating for paying customers but maybe provide more seating, open up the back, train your wait staff to explain kindly to customers your policies, or stop advertising yourself as a third space! May be under new management because I don’t remember it being this way in 2018 when I last went. Disappointed and frustrated that they advertise themselves as a third space for fostering community when clearly it’s actually about making $$$

I have always been a big fan of this establishment. Last month I held my baby shower there and the ambiance and venue set up was perfect for that kind of event. My family really liked how different it was in there and just a cozy place to be. It’s family owned and one true testament to the type of people who own it is that we left my brothers card behind and it had $300 in it, I hadn’t even called them yet to see if it was there because we were searching our home still and the owner emailed me and Venmo’d over the money. A lot of people finding a card with cash wouldn’t have ever said anything and to me that says a lot about their integrity. I included pictures if anyone is thinking of hosting their event there you can see how we were able to decorate in this very special Chicago staple.