Cafe Mustache
2313 N. Milwaukee
773-877-3327
If you want to get a taste of the microcosm of the local music scene but don’t want to deal with things like ticket fees or sets that run late into the night during the week, Cafe Mustache is the answer. The coffee shop is barely a year old, but it feels as though the place has already cemented itself as a jack-of-all-trades for music in Logan Square, and that extends beyond the fact that one of its founders plays in garage-rock act Rabble Rabble. The cafe hosts weekly in-store performances and sells music by local artists—some of whom are featured on a compilation curated by Cafe Mustache and Commune Records called Mustache Music, Vol. 1—but the real treat is the soundtrack to your stay. The staff takes pride in the vinyl that supplies the coffee shop’s aural ambience; there’s a well-positioned display spot for staff members to show off the record spilling out of the sound system. And on Wednesday nights patrons are encouraged to bring their own records to get played for customers sipping latte. —Leor Galil