For those who can't apartment hunt (or start their work day) without a cup of Joe...
Coffee Beanery Lincoln Ave & Skokie Blvd
Starbucks - 2 locations Historic Skokie Swift Station (847) 679-7287 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr (847) 329-1317
Wild Bean Cafe Dempster Street & McKormick Blvd
Shallots Bistro 4741 Main St Skokie, IL 60076 Dunkin Donuts - 2 locations 3900 Dempster St (847) 673-7099 5150 Touhy Ave (847) 291-7776
7th Heaven Cafe 4904 Oakton St (847) 674-1370
Caffe Milano - Drive Thru 5200 Dempster St Jack’s Diner - 24 hours 5201 W. Touhy Ave. (847) 674-5532
Sweety Pies Bakery 8042 Lincoln Ave 847-213-0900
These are some of the places you can go for coffee in Skokie within 5 minutes of the apartment. I generally did not include diners (except Jack's because it's open 24 hours) though there are several within walking distance. There are also many fine restaurants in the Skokie, as well as several hotels with restaurants. I also didn't include surrounding towns, but if you don't mind a ten minute drive, there are at least a dozen coffee shops in Evanston (including Casteel Coffee Roasters, Kafein, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Cafe Mozart, Cafe Hookah, Cafe Mud, Main Street Artisans, Linz & Vail, the Italian Coffee Bar, and Pick A Cup Coffee Club). If I missed your favorite, or you own a coffee shop not listed here, please let me know and I'll add it.
So as you're driving around looking at apartments this Sunday, be sure to make one of these your first stop and grab a cup to go.
For those who visit coffee shops just for the free WiFi:
VILLAGE OF SKOKIE TO OFFER FREE WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS IN DOWNTOWN OUTDOOR AREAS
Skokie , IL – Beginning in October, 2006, the Village of Skokie will be offering free wireless Internet access in outdoor public areas of the Downtown. As a part of a larger redevelopment project for Downtown, the wireless pilot program is called SkokieLink. This wireless connectivity will allow residents, students, visitors, and business users to access e-mails and search the Internet for information on laptops and PDAs while enjoying the outdoor public space. Four outdoor public spaces that will have wireless Hot Spots available, making this the largest wireless downtown in suburban Chicago. Initially these hotspots will include the public library, town hall, and two downtown parks. Additional expansion is planned to cover The Skokie Swift transit stations and the Forest City Illinois Science & Technology Park. For more information, go to www.skokielink.org
Still not enough?
Well the Skokie Public Library - long offering free movies and audio books for check out - has gone one step further. Skokie residents (with a valid Skokie Library card) now download books and movies to their computer for free - without ever leaving home.