Recently lost
A small moment for what just left us.
- Smoke Daddy BBQ (Division)fired up the smoker in 1994; served its last brisket on January 4 after 31 years. The Wrigleyville location stays open; the Division Street one is the loss.
- The Violet Hourthe country-altering cocktail bar on Damen closed permanently in June 2025 after 18 years and a failed plumbing-and-landlord negotiation. The most-missed last call of the year.
Some of our favorites
The ones we'd end a walk at.
- Myopic Booksthree floors, 60,000+ used titles, the oldest bookshop in the neighborhood and one of the few businesses to outlast its own gentrification.
- Quimby'sNorth Avenue, comics and zines you actually can't find anywhere else. Open since 1991 and beautifully weird.
- Reckless RecordsMilwaukee, vinyl basement, in-store performances on a real small stage.
- Volumes Bookcafecoffee, wine, books, and an actual community calendar — author events, speed-dating, the works.
The ones we don't have to tell you about
…but we will, briefly.
- The Flatiron Arts Buildingyes, the triangle at the six corners. We know.
- The Coyote Buildingyes, the one MTV's Real World lived in. We know.