Restaurant Review: October Café’s two locations celebrate Autumn Year-Round🍁 🍂
Expect to be greeted with a “Hello, pumpkin!” when you walk through the door.
Just up the hill from the far Northwest Side’s Norwood Park Metra Station, in an 1870’s-style storefront, the cozy, comforting scents of pumpkin spice and cinnamon wafts out the door year-round.
Welcome to the October Café, 6046 N. Avondale Avenue. Since 2023, it’s been Autumn all year long, as well as its second location in Jefferson Park/Gladstone Park, opened in January 2026, at 5961 N. Elston Avenue.
Both cafes are decorated with pumpkins, autumn leaves, and Halloween decorations throughout the year, and boasts the aromatic smells of autumn year-round.
But the real reason to go to either café is the beauty of their simple, locally sourced menu and imaginative (hot and iced) coffee and chocolate creations.
Why October?
Michelle Gonzalez, one-half of the married team who own both cafes, told Restaurant Business, “It’s such a cozy season. The colors, the smells. Pumpkin spice, caramel, apples. Oh, my god. We just love it. It’s the best season. You get to wear your biggest sweater and just feel so cozy. It’s delicious. I love it.”
Sharing that feeling was her wife, Audrey Borden. The soulmates met in college and married in 2023. With their families’ encouragement, Gonzalez recounted to Restaurant Business, “Let’s make a coffee shop based off our love story. That’s our month, our season. We love it all.”
Shine On, Harvest Moon
Everything in the café is made to order and uses locally sourced products. Coffee creations begin with a foundation of Dark Matter coffee, with its origins in Humboldt Park.
Their menu features handcrafted coffee, house-made pastries, sandwiches, and their signature “pumpkin spice charm.”
Take, for example, their vegan, plant-based menu, starting with Avocado Toast, which comes with two pieces of your choice of toast with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and pepper. Or, a Pesto Panini with vegan cheese, pesto, tomato, and spinach. Their Breakfast Sandwich is unique, coming with a plant-based egg and sausage, with your choice of bread, and guacamole or cheese.
Thank God a year-round choice is their Pumpkin Toast, served on panini bread, with pumpkin butter, pumpkin seeds, vegan chocolate chips, and sun butter drizzle.
Other options include their vegan Patty Melt, served on panini bread, with a vegan hamburger, vegan cheese, and their special ‘October Sauce’ (ketchup, mustard, and vegan mayo), onions, and vegan butter.
Ramen Noodles are soy-sauced Ramen noodles with cherry tomatoes, tofu, and arugula.
They also serve such comfort foods as a Grilled Cheese Sandwich with vegan cheese and bread.A Hot Dog or Vegan Hot Dog anda PB&J (peanut butter and jelly) combines allergy-free sunbutter with jelly.
And the pastries include…
Don’t miss their Churros or Churros with chocolate sauce, Oatmeal Cream Pie, or their Brownie, Whoopie Pie, or Chocolate Sprinkle Cake Pop. All but the Oatmeal Cream Pie are vegan and gluten-free.
Student specials
Bring your current, valid student I.D. card for a $5 Student Meal, “because cozy comfort should always be affordable.”
Their student meal includes: a grilled cheese sandwich, tater tots, and a fresh lemonade. It’s available all day, every day…again, with a valid student ID.
Coffee, anyone?
Last but certainly not least are their delicious coffees and hot chocolates, seasonal and themed lattes, signature coffee and matcha flights (including flavors like maple forest and hazelnut), chaga, cold brew, and smoothies.
One way to sample their best is their four-cup FLIGHT- We Fell in Love in October. It’s four specialty coffees, including their Pumpkin Spice Latte, Maple Forest (maple syrup, cinnamon and cardamom), Cozy VP Chai Tea Latte (pumpkin chai tea with milk, cinnamon and vanilla), and their signature Cuddle Weather, their fall hot chocolate made with hazelnut and caramel.
What makes the difference? Gonzalez told Restaurant Business, “Our pumpkin is more of like a pumpkin from the garden type of pumpkin, not like a sweet candy pumpkin because ours actually has pumpkin in it, a pumpkin puree with spices and stuff.”
Their Matcha hasground green tea powder with milk. By contrast, their Blue Matcha isdecaffeinated, sweeter, and made with butterfly pea flower.
Another take on lattes are their VP Chai Tea Latte, withvanilla and pumpkin chai.
For something completely different, try a Chaga, a mushroom latte, mushroom matcha, or mushroom hot chocolate. Different! Try it!
Events
Throughout the year, they host events that celebrate togetherness and the cozy spirit of fall — no matter the season. From live acoustic nights and local art pop-ups to latte workshops and couples’ brunches, every gathering is designed to bring people closer and make the café feel like home.
October Café is open every day from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. For more information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
