Heritage Outpost — Restaurant in Lake View Township

This is a difficult review for me to write as I used to come here ~5 years ago and always had a good experience – the coffee and service are good every time, and this time was no different. But after coming back, it seems the space inside The Lawrence House, which used to be open for customers of Heritage Outpost to enjoy their coffee and/or food or even to just hang out for a little while, has become unwelcoming of its patrons, and we had a pointedly unpleasant experience with the older man at the building's concierge desk.

My partner and I stopped in and were looking for the bathroom as we needed to go before we ordered coffee, and while we were looking for signs indicating where they were, the man at the desk loudly and in a rude tone asked us, "Can I help you?" We replied nicely that we were just ordering coffee and wanted to use the restroom beforehand, and he grouchily said, "Go get your coffee first."

After getting our coffee, we walked into the lobby of The Lawrence House to sit and enjoy our drinks and then finally use the bathroom. The lobby is a very nice, elegant, and spacious space with plenty of seating, and that has not changed. The man at the concierge proceeded to blatantly stare at us from afar with his arms crossed as if we were actively committing a crime or causing a ruckus and were making us very uncomfortable. We were just quietly sitting and talking, and other people in the lobby even interacted with us nicely. So, after about 5 mins of seeing him in our peripheral staring, we decided to leave.

I'd like to point out that there is no signage of any sort that says the bathroom or lobby of the apartment building are for residents only. If that is the case, then it needs to be made clear to patrons, and more than that, the concierge desk does not need to be so rude and crass towards people simply giving their business to what appears to be a partner coffee shop to the building. If non-residents are not allowed in those areas, you can communicate that nicely like a mature, normal human being, not act like you're the Head Chief of the FBI investigating the case of two women having coffee. It was my partner's first time here, and I raved about it prior to coming — it was supremely disappointing to find her having had a bad experience after visiting in the face of my eagerness for her to visit. We'd just driven 12 hours from New York, and that was our first stop in Chicago. Imagine how frustrating it is for a first timer's visit to start this way.

I still enjoy Heritage Outpost, but they should address this issue with the building as it's soured my desire to come here and recommend it to others. My partner and I were clearly not there for any nefarious reasons and were moreover dressed nicely. I cannot imagine why the harsh attitude the concierge gave us was necessary or helpful in any capacity. We were there for coffee and just wanted to hang out and relax for 15 mins max. I can't imagine any residents would take huge issue with that, especially when the lobby was not even crowded at the time we visited.

To anyone else coming here simply to hang out or to grab a bite and sit, I'd be wary of who is at concierge if you'd like to avoid an unnecessarily unwelcoming and...

I’d come here on several occasions to work in the lobby. It’s a nice workspace and I’d never had any issues coming in to sit down. Until one day I was harassed by the concierge, Richard. As I walked in to find a seat I walked past who I then found out was concierge. He was kneeled over going through mail and turned around to ask me if I needed help to which I replied no, I was just going to sit down. He then proceeded to tell me I needed to be a paying customer to sit down and he “knew who didn’t belong there.” This is a space open to the public. I’m very aware it’s courtesy to purchase something which I very well planned to stop at the cafe after I sat all my bags down. Which was what I told him. He was to close in my personal space for comfort and was trying to be intimidating. Ofcourse I was the only black woman or person of color there at the time, and I asked if he had this same talk with everyone. He said yes but I know that’s a lie. this was personal and discriminatory. I felt unsafe and confused by his actions and so not to escalate the situation further I walked away and sat down. After doing so Richard stared at me from across the room for at least 5 mins until I got up to go to the cafe. The residents here are very diverse so very weird he would act this way. while sitting there, eventually a few black residents came for their mail and I overheard them also talking about Richard and how he acted towards them which wasn’t positive. I also saw him do the exact thing he did to me, with the next man of color who came to work. He never once stopped to question any of the white visitors. I tried calling numerous times to tell mgt. and could never get through or leave a message. I asked for his manager email and was given an incorrect one. I happened to find their company email through this google maps and emailed them what happened and never got a reply. So it’s very apparent this place condones discriminatory practices and prejudice. They will happily take your money but really don’t want to welcome everyone. Shocking. I will never come back here or recommend anyone of color visit or...

It’s worth mentioning that there is only street parking that is metered. I was able to find a spot maybe half a block away. Also, the seating area posted in the picture was under construction. (No actual work was happening). However, if you can get past that part, you’re sure to find a comfy place (many spots to choose from)to sit and work, relax with a good book or enjoy a cup of coffee and hang out with a friend and catch up! When we were there as soon as we tried to sit down, there was a man that stopped us to ask what we were doing. When we told him we were having coffee and hanging out, he said OK. I believe that that is part of the apartment complex so I don’t think you could just sit there and hang out unless you live there or you’re having coffee. The actual coffee shop area is a small, walk up counter where you order and go. The gentleman that helped us was very friendly. I like strong coffee so for me their drip coffee wasn’t super strong but was good. You can always add a shot of espresso which she was more than happy to do for me. I also had the lemon loaf, which was absolutely delicious. My friend had the matcha, hot. You have the option of to go cups or coffee mugs that you can bring to the lounge area. It was a perfect environment for us to hang out and just relax and catch up. I even got a refill and my friend got some hot water. When the sun came out, we moved to the outdoor area, which was absolutely divine! They have a number of futon like beds that you can spread out and on and relax, which is what we did and proceeded to stay there for about an hour or so. I would definitely go back as I’m curious to see what it will look like when the renovations are finished. But absolutely do not let that detour you from visiting and...