I’ve had lots of coffeeshops in my life but Wormhole’s a little different. The main thing is I’ve never been a regular. The shop opened in 2010, six years after I’d left Wicker Park. But when I came back to the neighborhood I’d come in for a pour-over.
I was living in Heart of Chicago, then Beverly in those years. Working at a coffeeshop myself part of that time. Not unlike now, with bookstores, or during my hack days with driving, the impulse to go to a coffeeshop just wasn’t front of mind. Like getting off work, then going to work.
That neighborhood too was a real bummer. Long past the hip old artsy days and even the new up-and-coming chic enclave, Wicker Park in the 2010s had settled into a grim commerce center vibe. Typically, I’d keep my head down except when inside Myopic Books or the Rainbo Club. Wasn’t much on Milwaukee Avenue left for me. Still, a good cup of coffee is a good cup of coffee.
I’d mostly forgotten about Wormhole by the time I took on the Sunday night shift at Rainbo in 2023. Katherine was one of the regulars and after we got to talking I’d come see her at Wormhole before my shift sometimes. Then I brought my box of gouache and made a painting. Now it hangs to the left of the register.
I returned and made others.
But I feel like a bit of an interloper. I don’t know a single regular; just the staff. They greet me warmly and give me coffee on the house but I don’t know a single regular. A coffeeshop is a place to meet people but I’ve never met anyone at Wormhole.
The tables are typically filled by very serious-looking young people completely concentrating on laptops, tablets, smartphones, books, and journals. Some are clearly studying or working together. There’s often a line stretching to the door. The drinks they make here take time.
Since quitting my bar shift, I rarely find myself in Wicker Park. But a couple weeks ago I popped in and mentioned to Sean, the manager, that Katherine had told me they were thinking of swapping out the artwork. I’d never seen anything but the cutesy retro paintings of 80s robots and creatures up at the coffeeshop. I thought they were on permanent display.
Now my stuff is there. That means I’ll probably stop by more often. But Wormhole will never be my coffeeshop the way Jackalope is, or Urbus Orbis, Jinx, Atomix, Mercury, Duvall’s, or Hardboiled used to be.
It’s by far the most popular coffeeshop I’ve ever spent time in but it’s a home away from home for others not for me.
Here’s a playlist of some recent songs I’ve been listening to.