KnockBox Café

I’m very sad that this place has closed. Apparently the landlord was going to raise the rent beyond what they were willing or able to afford.

As we walked over to Humboldt Park we stopped into this café for a quick beverage and rest. We were told there wasn’t much of a selection since it was there last day open.
The space was cute & quirky and the staff was nice. I hope the staff and owners find success elsewhere. Good teas and coffees too.

Came here for lunch and had the turkey sandwich with bleu cheese coleslaw. Both were excellent! My only minor complaint was that the crust on the sandwich was a little hard to bite into. A thick sandwich with harder crust can be a pain trying to eat without squeezing the contents out of the sides.
Portion sizes were good. At first, I thought the coleslaw dish was small but it complemented the sandwich well. The perfect lunch is when you aren’t hungry and aren’t overly full afterwards.
For the price, I wouldn’t want to pay any more than what I did, somewhere around $ 10. Anymore, and I would say that it would be overpriced.
Ambiance was… dark. It was a cloudy day but I really wasn’t feeling the vibe. A lot of people sitting by themselves with earphones in. It wasn’t too loud inside which is nice and sometimes rare to find during the lunch hour.
Street parking was free which is a definite bonus.
In sum, if I’m in the area again and it is nearby, I would definitely drop by.

Got the Chai tea latte and a breakfast sandwich.
The breakfast sandwich was awesome. They are made to order… egg, ham, cheese and I asked for some veggies (tomatoes and spinach). The sandwich was fresh and very tasty :). I also loved the latte :)

Well, I’m sitting in this place right now, using my Macbook and their free Wi-​Fi, so I figured I should give them a shout-​out, because the veggie bagel I just had was delicious, and the bottomless Metropolis coffee is well-​brewed, and the people are nice, and there seems to be plenty of room to work, and it’s neither to loud nor too quiet, so you don’t feel like you’re sitting in some sort of lab experiment studying human-​computer interactions, which is nice, but it makes me worry that my usual coffeehouse is just not up to par with the other offerings in the area, which puts me into this weird «loyalty-​versus-​quality» dilemma, because I’ve been going to the other place for years, but this place is so much nicer and more spacious and they open earlier and on time, unlike the other place, which is sort of a crapshoot, so it’s hard to say «Sorry, I won’t be coming back, unless my usual place isn’t open like I expected it to be,» which is what happened today, and I happened to be driving, so getting over here was quicker than it would usually be, so I’m going to have to take some time and work this issue out, and I’ll let you know where things go, because I know that you are someone who not only cares about coffee and bagels and Wi-​Fi, but also about people, and community, and life, and I respect you too much not to be your personal conduit to the world of quality coffeehouses.

Chill. Nice folks. Good sammie and cookie. It’s on the list of «Places to stop when I’m in the area»…

Less classic rock, please. It makes one averse to coming or staying. Consider hiring a barrista who is the best kind of music nerd.

Cool vibe and good coffee.
It’s perfect for spending some time working or studying in peace, as it’s quiet and not too packed.
The selection of pastry could be widened.

Sad. KnockBox sounded great, but there was nothing great about the experience. The coffee was Metropolis, and it was well brewed, so taste wise it was fine. But it was so hot that I had to wait an hour to safely consume it. On top of that, it was in a fairly sketchy area (to me), so I wasn’t comfortable enough to walk around, yet the seats inside were also quite uncomfortable.
The interior was nothing too bold, much less «hipster» than many other coffee spots around (but the coffee wasn’t as good, so there’s the trade-​off, perhaps). They also played music that I’ve only ever heard in throwback bars, karaōke clubs, and trying – too-​hard cafes: Queen, Blondie, Toto, and so on. Not a big fan of that. (Though the Strokes came on later, so it was a mixed bag.)
I did not have any food, however. So maybe that’s a saving grace of this place. But it’s a coffee shop first, and the coffee was alright, but napalm, and nothing special. Sorry KnockBox, but nothing stood out. Nothing positive, at least.

Great coffee, great prices, and great service. Can’t ask for anything more.
Done!

Chai Owners, Chai Rulers, the lords of Chai
Their Backstory, hail Jonah, owner and ask him how he started
Huge
Table placement allows for personal space — Perfect for gossip and study simultaneously
Ceiling is one of a kind — architecture nugget
(the bronze, tin make cannot be found anywhere else)
Electronic bus schedule
Food!!!
Alt. (non-​coffee) beverage menu: Check fridge
Good color scheme
Large windows up front — sunlight
Corner spot on intersection, cozy architectonics
Positive aura
Open to hiring if you are funny and real
Up and Coming neighborhood
Parking good
Intelligent-​looking and sounding Customer base
WiFi password is validation for observant people
(you only will get this one if you actually visit and use wifi)

I used to live close by and went here almost every day. I loved their Chai’s and the service is always great. It’s a good place to go to if you want to sit and stay awhile whether you’re trying to get work done or just want to visit with a friend. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere and they never try to rush you to get out of there.

This place is fine. For a city with more independent roasters than most people have fingers per hand, the coffee is okay (Metropolis. I’m pretty shaky about their stuff). The service is fantastic; once you’re four feet from the counter, they’ve got you. And not in a weird, jumpy way. More like a cool, «Oh hey man. What can we do for you?» kind of a way.
I always have the breakfast sandwich, with ham, because that’s the only reason I would leave the house for coffee. The sandwich is okay, but nothing you couldn’t make in four minutes yourself with cheese singles and Oscar Meyer lunchmeat.
A weird thing: they won’t give you a refill on the «Bottomless Cup» of coffee if it’s in a to-​go cup. Even if that to-​go cup is a steel tumbler of your own provision. Aren’t you… saving them money by not getting any more after that?

There is nothing bad to say about Knockbox. For the 3 years I have been coming to this Café I have only had friendly service, quality Metropolis coffee, and great food. A Lot of Café’s in Chicago feel a little distant from their community, and I feel like Knockbox sits at the intersection of so many different cultures of Humboldt Park. There are a ton of regulars from all different walks of life who have found a home in this Café. I don’t know if there’s anyone who could walk in that door that wouldn’t be welcomed warmly.
I would go out of my way just to come to this Café!

By far the best chicken salad sandwich I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot). I try to stop in at least twice a month to pick one up with a side of blue cheese coleslaw, which is also fantastic.
I keep reading that the staff is friendly and I’ve had that maybe a couple times. UNFORTUNATELY, I do experience unwarranted glares, and even some rude responses, from the staff more often then not. Maybe because I don’t fit the vibe of the place? Serve everyone equally — whether they fit the hipster scene or not, right?
If it weren’t for that, this place would be 5 stars.

The french toast is very good, it’s too bad it came with a side dish of sour cashier. If you like feeling like you’re a burden and don’t mind a hostile hostess, this place is right up your alley. KnockBox? Who’s there… The people I tell not to come to your café.

As a teacher who needs weekend work spaces, I’m always on the hunt for great coffee shops with free wifi. I passed KnockBox Café a couple of weeks ago when I was running and wanted to check it out. Well, with the school year creeping quickly around the corner, it was the perfect Saturday to check it out. I arrived just after lunchtime today, and there were plenty of empty tables with nearby outlets. I swear, my computer is almost always dead as soon as I set up shop to work. Everyone else was here to work, so it was super quiet. The music is played at a very low, non-​distracting volume. The tables feel like you are sitting at your own kitchen table back home. :)
I ordered a veggie panini with a side of the bleu cheese coleslaw that other Unilocalers had recommended. The veggie panini was your standard veggie sandwich, but came with very fresh veggies, hummus, and great quality bread. I am one of those weird people who can’t get enough coleslaw. The addition of bleu cheese to the coleslaw produced an out of this world side. The employees were all friendly, and the food came out fast.
This may become a new weekend work spot.

Most addicting chicken salad I’ve ever had in my life! Real talk. During an intense laptop sesh here the other day I had it for both breakfast and lunch. Even the guy working the counter told me he dips off to the back every so often just to enjoy a scoop of it. I can hardly blame him.
Besides the moneymaker it’s got a great vibe for getting some work done. Cozy couch, cool artwork on the walls, and pretty good background music.
If you take public trans there’s a CTA tracker that monitors the nearby bus line which is a pretty convenient feature.
Overall it’s awesome. Not too much else to report.

After one Freudian slip from Martha Z. I too keep calling this spot Knockerbox. In my defense, they DO have a chicken salad sandwich called Knockers. Insert immature giggles here.
Situated in the old Humboldt Pie spot, the slices may be gone, but so is the sloth-​like service. These guys were zippier than Jimmy Johns purports to be in those radio commercials and pretty tasty to boot. They have a nice little list of sandwiches, and the hummus plate hit the spot as did the coffee (Metropolis).
The spot is pretty spacious, has free wi-​fi, and has those damn cherry print chairs from Ikea that I am dying to buy.
I’ll be suggesting this as my next coffee date location with anyone who doesn’t live in Pilsen or want to trek all the way to my neck of the woods.

I am so happy that Knockbox is here. Living just down the block, I reiterate that this stretch of California was in dire need of a coffee shop — and a true one at that — no Starbucks-​clone or half-​baked attempt here.
Humboldt Pie was ambitious, but they failed in that they served coffee and pizza — and weren’t particularly skilled at either.
At Knockbox, I am very glad to say the baristas know their stuff. Delightfully well-​foamed milk, perfect espresso shots teased out of naked groupheads (sounds so dirty!), and freshly baked goods — the oatmeal cookies are especially nice.
Need to go back and try the sandwiches — they all looked and sounded delicious.