TrueNorth Cafe is set to reopen by the second week of April, according to the café’s owners. The café has been closed for renovations since November 3, but newfound structural issues forced the owners to postpone the original reopening date of February 1.
The 57th Street café has served the Hyde Park community since 2018, offering sandwiches, smoothies, and coffee drinks.
The café’s building, owned by Mac Properties, was constructed in 1911 and had not experienced prior structural problems, according to the café’s owner, Andy Peters (A.B. ’10). However, he said, “closing down and doing a full renovation gave us the ability to stop putting bandages on smaller problems like we had in the past.”
The renovations included replacing beams that support both the floor and ceiling of the first floor of the building, where the café sits. Peters also planned to have the floor redone—replacing decades-old wood with new tile flooring—but ceiling issues delayed the installation and ultimately postponed the planned reopening date.
According to Peters, the extended closure also allowed the café to restructure its floor plan, which had remained the same for decades, dating back to the building’s previous tenants. Due to food safety regulations, customers were previously unable to access the café’s back patio directly, as that would require putting a doorway in the middle of the back kitchen. With the new layout, Peters said, customers will be able to walk directly from the dining area to the patio.
Management used the time during renovations to “think not only about the physical space, but also about our customers and changing our menu,” Peters said. The previous layout of the café had separated the coffee-making area from the kitchen, where smoothies and sandwiches were made.
“Smoothies are a big part of our business, but they were previously made in the back,” he said. “That limited our ability to make blended coffee drinks like frappes or iced chais.” The expanded front service area will allow for a larger drink menu, Peters said, while the back kitchen will now mainly handle catering orders.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “The back patio is the best one I know, and now people will finally be able to use it.”
