Archie’s Cafe Closes With Proper Send Off In ‘Archiepocalypse’

With the sun beating down on a late August afternoon, a sometimes quiet patch of sidewalk laying in the shadow of the Loyola Red Line station was abuzz with life. Band after band took the stage, neighbors chatted over drinks, artists sold their crafts and Rogers Park residents of all creeds stopped by — for one final time — to take in the carefully curated atmosphere of Archie’s Cafe. 

Spanning three days from Aug. 23-25, “Archiepocalypse” was an all-encompassing celebration and farewell bash for the cafe, which closed its doors for the last time Saturday, Aug. 31. 

To commemorate Archie’s end — brought on by Loyola’s decision to purchase and eventually demolish the building in 2025 — owner Roberta Schmatz invited back several of the frequently featured musical acts, who she said had become part of the cafe’s fabric. 

In addition to music, attendees perused drawings, paintings, stitchings, collages, jewelry and glassware. Meanwhile cafe staff manned an outdoor grill and a bar to serve the crowd — which at times swelled to well over 150 people. 

Inside the building, vendors set up a vintage clothing market while a tarot reader provided insights into people’s lives. 

Lee Loba, a 20-year-old psychology major at DePaul University, sold her art and jewelry throughout the afternoon and evening on Saturday. She said the event went really well and she was able to meet lots of interesting people while also making good sales. 

Loba said she’s disappointed by the loss of Archie’s, especially since she explained it was a great place for new artists to find their footing.

“There was just such a good DIY scene and so many local artists were able to perform here,” Loba said. “It’s just hard to find places like this around Chicago because usually you have to pay copious amounts of money to vend or perform at places.” 

Aug. 23 was the final Jazz Night to be hosted at 1228 W. Loyola Ave and featured the three bands which have kept the weekly Open Jazz Jam tradition alive over the last few years.

First up were the newest addition to the Archie’s Jazz rotation, the Oscar Everly Trio. Following their set, longtime Archie’s favorite Connor Sullivan and his band took the stage.

For Sullivan, a 21-year-old music education and jazz studies major at DePaul University, Archie’s was the first venue where he and his group ever secured consistent gigs and a residency outside of school. 

“I’ve met a lot of great people, just learned so much about playing, learned a lot about a whole bunch of different things,” he said. “I’m very very grateful to have been a part of this and to have had this gig. You know, it’s very disappointing to see it end, but I have a lot of gratitude for it happening.” 

Drummer Mason Lampa said playing the gig every week was a great experience for the band and much of their sound evolved out of playing in the space.

“We were so lucky to have this gig for numerous reasons, but I think the main one was they were comfortable with us trying things out,” Lampa said.

Jazz singer and frequent special guest with Sullivan’s band Holly McGuire said Archie’s was a great place for student musicians to practice their craft.

“You can do it in the classroom and at school, but to be out in this sort of atmosphere is really beneficial,” McGuire said.

The crowd continued to grow both in size and spirit as the tremolo of Sullivan’s set cascaded off the “L” tracks. While the audience included many familiar faces, for some, like fourth-year history major Christopher Gomez, it was their first time taking in the cafe’s atmosphere.

“I never got a chance to come out here and then some friends were like, ‘Let’s go out,’ Gomez said. “I said ‘Let’s not do that cause I’m afraid I’m gonna love the place,’ and this place is pretty great — I love this place, it’s a shame that it’s getting closed down, a real shame.”

It was not, however, the first visit for Tess Lacy, a third-year high school student at Jones College Prep who lives just a few blocks from Archie’s. She said she was very happy to be at the farewell but was also working through the sadness brought on by Archie’s closing.

“This building is such a fixture in my life —  I walk by every single day,” Lacy said. “It’s so special to me and I know it’s so special to so many other people, so the thought that one day I’m going to get off the train coming home from school and this place won’t be here anymore, I can’t even process that that will happen.”

The final band of the night was Ea Tet, the group which first started hosting the Open Jazz Jam back when Archie’s filled only a single room. Band member Eric Arroyo, a 27-year-old Loyola graduate who works in forestry and conservation, said after being there from the beginning it was a very bittersweet night. 

“I’m happy that I get to end where it began,” he said. “There’s not too many of these community spaces throughout Chicago, like Archie’s, that focus on community-focused art and music and visual performance and it’s really upsetting to see this place go.”

The music picked up at noon the next morning as Saturday’s indie rock-focused lineup got underway. The setlist featured local Chicago bands who have played at Archie’s in the past including Clown Nose, White Orchid and Twin Coast. 

Around 8 p.m., Intoner, a band composed of DePaul undergrads, played Archie’s for the fourth and final time. The band’s drummer James Matthews said they played some of their older songs, harkening back to their first Archie’s show.

“When we were starting up, this was one of the first shows that we played,” Matthews, 21, said. “There’s just really welcoming energy. The crowd is really amazing up here.” 

Matthew Boyd, a 20-year-old who plays guitar, said it’s especially sad to see a venue go that offers opportunities to new acts. Matthews noted how important spaces like Archie’s are for younger people, who often don’t have many places to hang out.

Saturday’s closing act was the only performer to have never played at Archie’s before the weekend. Femi, a local rapper, was one of the cafe’s first employees. His performance was followed by a DJ set as the clock struck midnight and Saturday became Sunday. 

Sunday had a little bit of everything, including rock, funk and folk. 

The finishing touches were graffitied on a mural on the “L” track wall reading “Archie’s 4 Eva”. Schmatz said she hopes to see the entirety of the stretch between Loyola and Albion Avenues turned into an art wall and asked friends and guests to notify Alderwoman Maria Hadden (49th) of their support for the proposal. 

Looking Back, and Ahead

Schmatz said she first rented the space which would eventually become Archie’s in 2009. Before opening the cafe, which was named after her mother, Schmatz used the space as a yoga studio, gallery, event space and locally made clothing store.

“I would drive past here often and I saw this beautiful sunny storefront for rent,” she said. “I rented it not exactly sure what I was going to do here, but I had many adventures here.”

Further down Loyola Avenue near St. Ignatius, there used to be a small natural grocery store run by one of Schmatz’s friends. After 15 years, the owner decided to close up shop, which Schmatz said prompted her to open Archie’s. 

“I ended up buying a lot of her equipment,” she said. “Her counters are our counters, so it’s nice I can keep her spirit alive on the block.”

It took over a year to install a kitchen and convert the space into a cafe as Schmatz, her kids and some friends put everything together themselves. She said she hoped to serve students and parents from the nearby school run by the St. Ignatius parish, but just a few months after officially opening in February 2018, it was announced the school would be closing down.

“I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m finished,” Schmatz said. “But by that time, Loyola had kind of found us, you know, a lot of the students were coming.” 

At that time, Archie’s was mainly open in the mornings serving breakfast, lunch and coffee. In 2019, after getting a liquor license, Schmatz said she began to stay open later on weekends, but felt spread thin. 

This changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and businesses were forced to close down for an extended period. However, Archie’s was able to reopen in a limited capacity a few weeks into the pandemic. 

“I would open on the weekends, people would come in one or two at a time, everybody was masked up,” Schmatz said. “I would have these fridges full of prepared foods and pastry and coffees and so people would come and get something and then they’d leave and then I’d go around the counter and wipe everything down. It was crazy.”

Schmatz said multiple people had told her how important it was to serve the community during that time.

When the summer of 2020 came, she said, they were able to open with outdoor seating, and it was then they began to frequently host musicians and open later in the day.

“We’ve just kind of kept going from there with the music program and expanding the hours again,” Schmatz said. “We went back to adding weekend days but we never went back to opening the cafe during daytimes.” 

Things have only grown from there, she said, as eventually Loyola students returned to campus and life slowly went back to normal. Schmatz said the community surrounding the cafe has grown organically, and has become larger than she could’ve ever expected.

“It’s funny — I never really accounted for the ebb and flow of the students, and how they would come through and graduate and move on,” she said. “And I seem to get postpartum every year after the kids leave. But the new ones come and you know it’s been great.”

She said everything has exceeded the expectations she had when she first decided to open a little neighborhood cafe. 

“It just always makes me happy to see the community integrated with the students and how those relationships have developed over the years,” she said.

As the end drew nearer and she was setting up for the weekend’s festivities, Schmatz said she felt like she was a little numb.

“I don’t feel like it’s necessarily sunk in because there’s so much work,” she said. “Certain things will wash over me from time to time. I’ll be like, ‘This is the last time I’m going to order stammtisch.’” 

Schmatz said she’s looking forward to whatever comes next.

“Maybe it would’ve been nice for it to live on and, even without me, that I maybe could’ve passed it on or continued to be a local cafe,” Schmatz said. “But at the same time I think, you know, maybe it’s what it was. It’s like a shooting star — it’s here, it’s gone, we had a good time.”