Tommy’s Guitars & Trading Post

I went in to get a quote for selling an amp, was told they would buy it for $ 280, and then when I went to bring it in I was told by another employee that they would only pay half of that. Also, the owner was rude to me, even though his own employee quoted me the aforementioned price.

Recently I bought my «Classic 1960» 1991 Les Paul Gold Top at Tommy’s Guitars & Trading post. It was a great experience dealing with Tommy, who is a knowledgeable, honest, hardworking straight shooter. The guitar is everything I hoped it would be and Tommy and his team went out of his way to make sure the guitar was in tip-​top shape for me, opening up the electronics and truss rod to ensure the guitar was all-​original and in working order, and even calling around to some people to try to get a history of ownership on the guitar when I casually asked about it.
My advice: come to Tommy’s with some time on your hands, because Tommy is a Chicago fixture and a music scene veteran. He has a ton of great information and interesting stories to tell, and you’re gonna want to spend some time talking to him. I was in a rush and regretted not being able to spend more time, but I’ll be back.
Thanks for the first class treatment, Tommy — I appreciated it and will be back for sure!

I politely emailed this store to ask if a guitar that I had lent to someone had been brought in for repair. It had been a couple years since the guitar had been brought in. I unfortunately was not the person who brought the guitar in and it was not known to me that they had left it at the repair shop. Since it was not myself that brought the guitar in, I actually do not know how long ago it was brought in. I do not play the guitar but it was my uncle’s who had passed away and held sentimental value to me.
The person whom I had lent the guitar to states that she had paid for the repairs but never picked up the guitar. My message was inquiring if they still had the guitar. I suspect that there would be a record of payment or name of the person who brought the guitar in on file.
This was my reply from this store.
«Come on, really, a few years ago. Sorry, but I would not have a clue, do you realize how many guitars have been in and out of here the last few years, and if she did bring it here what would make you think it would still be here after that period of time. Also, you did not even state what kind of guitar it was. I do not want to be rude, but your request is nuts. No further emails on this subject.
Thank you, Tom Sr. «
I guess if you don’t want to be rude, maybe you should not be. It seems to be good business practice to say that you do need the name of the type of guitar it was and that you could look into it. Also, take in to perspective other peoples feelings. Sure this means nothing to you, but it does mean a lot to me.
It is unfortunate that I did not get this back from this person sooner but I do not feel like a RUDE email response is deserved for trying to reclaim my paid for property. This person has since sent me the receipt for the item and paid 125 $ for the repair. She also notes that she never received a call back to pick up this guitar from repair. This is why she states she did not return to pick it up and then forgot about it.
1^st of all I was just asking and this email reply is completely rude and unprofessional. 2^nd I guess I would think as a professional establishment you would have a record of guitars that have been brought in to your establishment and not been picked up. I am sure there is some policy that you use and a way to track down the owner/​person that paid for the repair before you decide if an item has been abandoned.

Man, oh man. It’s an awesome marriage of food and guitars, but I just wasn’t feeling it.
I traveled up north to this joint with the implicit purpose of buying a guitar that day. I was overwhelmed by how many great guitars at fair prices I had seen on the walls. I had an outstanding lunch while planning which ones I wanted to pull down and try out.
Upon browsing, I noticed that every guitar was handcuffed or otherwise secured to the wall. Not a big deal, aside from the fact that the owner seemed extremely inconvenienced to pull a guitar down for me. Even barking a price across the shop seemed like a pain in his ass.
His guitar tech was extremely helpful, although I could tell I was keeping him from getting his repairs finished. Ultimately, I tried out a handful of guitars, plugged into a crap guitar amp while sitting on the ground in everyone’s way.
I found the right guitar, but to be honest, I didn’t want this guy getting my money. I don’t expect him to dance for me or sing happy birthday, but I certainly didn’t want to be treated like a nuisance.

nothing i like more than being surrounded by guitars and great music while i eat a delicious sandwich. so let me break this down for you on how incredible this place is:
the menu: has something for everyone, even vegan options for myself. AND they actually had vegan mayo, which most places skip because it’s costly.
the environment: you are surrounded by guitars. i don’t play, but now i definitely want to learn! they also play some great rock n roll. definite thumbs up!
the staff: very friendly and happy. so you can tell they love working here. this is important as it makes me want to keep coming back.
i highly recommend coming here, spend your money on food, coffee, and a guitar! rock out people!

I went today for the first time and was surprised that the Sloppy Joe was surprisingly REALLY good for a Sloppy Joe.
Cool concept, too. I really liked the way they used their product as decoration — really innovative. I was also impressed with the layout of the place. Although it was small, there was room to sit and the kitchen was downstairs. More importantly, I was very impressed with their menu which had a ton of Vegan and Vegetarian options at the same affordable prices! Kudos to them for that, which definitely earned them that fourth star.
The food was done really quickly and the price was only like $ 5. All in all, I was a happy customer. Conveniently located on my walk home from the bus so I’ll be back soon.

Boy meets girl.
Boy asks girl out, knowing she is a tough critic. The answer? A taco joint with only nine Unilocal reviews and a jug of DIY margaritas. Good (no, great) fucking call.
Now girl asks boy out. Boy likes burgers, boy likes Pac-​Man, and boy, is this boy clever. Oh — and boy loves guitars. Girl is dead-​set on impressing boy.
Girl has what some would call her «work cut out.» And it is, ’cause when armed with a keyword combination of «guitar burger» on Unilocal,Kuma’s comes up first (hold the metal, this time) and Tommy’s Guitars and Café appears in the second slot.
GENIUS.
It’s a date — one filled with beautiful guitars, breakfast any time, lattes, Ms. Pac-​Man for two, BLTs, Italian Beefs and wait for it: Pizza burgers on focaccia breads! Men eat this kind of place up… yes, literally.
And now? I’m only the coolest chick in the world… for at least one day.

Cute café area surrounded by a lot of expensive guitars. This is a quaint little place to come and have a very casual lunch — it’s a few doors down from the Black Beetle.
The menu is surprisingly vegan friendly – mostly cold sandwiches, smoothies, burgers, etc. I think they have coffee/​expresso too. I had a vegan BLT sandwich with veggie chips — it was nothing fancy-​but it was cheap/​healthy/​quick. My bf had a turkey sandwich on a kaiser roll and a bag of Jays. We split a strawberry kiwi smoothie which was delish.
I’d come back here if I was in the area. No complaints here.

I love love love Tommy’s Guitars and Café’s concept.
My fiancée’s love of Guitars and my love of coffee is finally combined!
The people here were very cool, they let my fiancée play their guitar, made my coffee. Too bad their coffee isn’t café quality, more diner quality. I would love to go back and try their sandwiches per recommendations of other Unilocalers.

Best roast beef sandwich in Chicago. Comes with a bag of Jay’s chips and a fortune cookie. I don’t know where they get their beef, but its delicious. I always ask for no mayo, though, and always get questioned about it. «Just dry, really?» Yes, really, I have ordered like 30,000 roast beef sandwiches from here over the past year, always with no mayo, its OK. But they’re that good. I’ve also had breakfast and other sandwiches, also very tasty, but nothing beats the beef.
They have cool guitars, too. Everything from basic acoustic to an electric guitar shaped like the Busch beer logo. The staff is nice and stays out of your way. There’s an old pinball machine you can knock around on too while you wait for a sandwich. As long as I live down the street I will be a regular frequentor of the «guitar store sandwich shop».

I give 5 stars to Tommys Guitar and Café for many reasons.
Its a very creative entrpeneurial idea to create a Guitar/​Café shop.
Never heard of this idea before until I have visited this establishment.
By the way, I play 2 instruments a guitar and a piano.
Anyway, you can order coffee and browse or jam on one of the guitars.
You can even get your guitar fixed here as well.
Visit the place and invite some friends for a night of guitar jam.

Oh man, I’ve been going to Tommys since they were in their old spot just down the street. And let me confess that their BLT’s were one of my weaknesses when I stopped being vegan. Yum! But now they have vegan sandwiches and they are surprisingly good! I say surprisingly because some other places make crappy vegan stuff.
Well it doesn’t matter to me now cuz I eat meat and I love their chicken sandwich.
I like to go in there and use their computers too,… they got wi-​fi and all that.
Guitars are fun too look at, although I don’t play. Pretty sweet place to hang around and listen to folks pick away at the strings.

Tommy’s is the only place you can get a guitar and food (including vegan food) at the same place in the city. I don’t care about guitars too much so I went there solely for the vegan food. The vegan sloppy joes were great — I had a taste for a sandwich like this one earlier in the day so this hit the spot. The sandwiches also come with veggie chips, which I didn’t really care for, but I guess it’s better than eating french fries. My bf really liked his smoothie too. Overall I thought the environment was comfortable and will surely go again. 3.5 Stars

If you’re confused by the «Guitars and Café» in the name, let me break it down for you:
It’s a guitar store. And a café. Get it?
Yeah, I don’t really get it, either. I mean, I’m sure it’s convenient if you are shopping for a guitar for so long that you get really hungry for a burger or a vegan sandwich. Or maybe if you’re sitting at Star Lounge and you get hungry. I’m not complaining about the fact that it’s a guitar shop with a kitchen in the basement, just not really clear on how it all came to be.
At any rate, we chilled out for a bit here, tried not to touch anything, ate some solid BLT’s and a really good peach smoothie, spilled a few crumbs and felt weird about it, given the expensive goods all around us.
Oh, and there’s a working two-​player Ms. Pac-​Man machine, which is pretty bad-​ass.

I’ve had this place in mind as a spot to visit for a while now because I liked the idea of a guitar shop that serves a pretty good burger. The eclectic nature of the store mesmerized me for sure and the fact that I I hadn’t visited year after year exacerbated my fascination/​obsession with this place. Thanks to honest Abe’s b-​day I got the day off and headed off on an adventure with my girl, what’s more adventurous than eating a burger amidst dangling guitars?
The vibe of it was pretty eclectic, more than I thought it would be. I wasn’t aware that it was an internet café as well and there were two guys poring over their desktops and a small coffee counter. I was wondering where the food comes from when the barrista/​host asked if we were going to eat in we did and she told us to sit upstairs, any place we wanted. The barrista/​host became our barrista/​host/​waitress. She came out with some menus and in the midst of talking and we failed to get what we wanted to eat but managed to get a drink order in.
There was a poster for a Pumpkin spice latte but that was apparently from FIVE months ago. The waitress did say she probably could make it but it was weird that it wasn’t taken down before. There’s laid back and then there’s too laid back. Fortunately, my date wanted a chai and even though it wasn’t in the menu that they hand out they did have it available. Score!
I wanted a smoothie and she asked if I wanted a fresh fruit one which again wasn’t on the menu we had. Well, I had no idea what the real fruit flavors were so I just went with the powdered ones, and I mixed flavors, strawberry and honeydew. My lunch date thought her chai was just okay, and my smoothie was also okay as well I’ve had powdered smoothies before and liked them fully knowing they were powder base but this one really seemed like it.
Food wise we both ordered burgers. I got the bacon cheeseburger and my adventure day partner got a regular cheeseburger. Both were good, a sprinkling of some sort of spice powder and with fresh onions, lettuce and tomato as well as cucumber which was a surprisingly interesting and delicious addition. The food was good, and I was pretty impressed with it.
Aside from the outdated flier and the okay drinks I liked it. I would come back for another burger or another sandwich, maybe try out a coffee or a fresh fruit smoothie with my meal.

I’ve been in the place a couple times now and I really like it. It’s kind of weird to be in a guitar shop AND café but it really works. Partly because I really like a good, greesy burger (which they have nailed), partly because they have a cute staff, and partly because the owner is hysterical when talking to his staff.
The only downer is that the place is never busy (at least the three or four times I’ve been in here). I actually was going to stop in at Star Café right down the street but it was standing room only. I walk across the street, come in to Tommy’s, the place is empty, the burger is awesome, the coffee is great (yeah, a coffee and a burger — I’m not the healthiest eater in the world)…
In general, I can’t figure out why this place isn’t busier. I even enjoyed the owner jamming on a guitar in the corner once in awhile to demo a guitar for a customer.
So come on down and enjoy this place.

I wandered in here while spending the afternoon exploring the neighborhood. The exterior presentation drew me in and the interior décor was comfortable and had an outdoor «back deck» aesthetic as the dining area was actually on a raised wooden deck with a wooden railing all the way around it. The idea has huge potential but this place doesn’t pull it together well enough.
I was not greeted when I walked in despite walking right up to two of the three people working there and not a single other customer was in the place. I almost felt like I was interrupting so I simply strolled the corridors where the guitars were displayed rather than «bother» anyone for a coffee. There were three people working there at the time. I noticed that the people working there had to yell at each other to communicate and that one of the employees was yelling from the basement stairway. (the kitchen is in the basement) All the yelling was very off putting. The music was playing way too loudly for them to talk to each other at normal volume.
The guitar display areas are tight corridors that wrap around the dining deck. There’s not really enough room to comfortably walk around and if two people had to pass each other, forget it. Each and every guitar in the place had either a little electronic security cable around it or a pair of handcuffs securing it to the wall hanger. If you wanted to try a guitar out, you would have to have an employee un-​tether it for you. I absolutely hate having to have guitar shop workers stand over me while I try guitars out. Even if the guitars were accessible for a quick test drive, I doubt it would do much good as the music was playing so loudly that you would never be able to hear yourself play.
When I was walking out the door, the person behind the coffee counter shouted out a very sarcastic «thanks a lot» as the door was closing behind me.

Great place. I came across this place by accident. Was in the neighborhood for work and had an hour or two to kill. Saw this place, it looked interesting and I went in for a quick breakfast. I am glad I did. The place is a café filled with guitars and has really good music playing.
Very friendly staff, great service and an awesome selection of breakfast sandwiches. I had the pepper egg focaccia sandwich with a hazelnut latte. It was really good and very reasonably prices.
I loved the vibe in this place with great music and being surrounded by guitars (great décor, that is also for sale … ;))
NOTE :
The place also has a framed copy of a hand written note by Tom Petty to the owner of the place when he visited there.
I will be back.

Was referred here by the frame store people while I waited for my matting. It was not precisely what I expected, but it is a full guitar shop and a full coffee place. I got a raspberry chai with soy for $ 4, which was interesting. I think I’d opt for a normal flavor next time. They have burgers and stuff too, but nothing really veg.
If I have a friend visiting who is in to guitars, I’m going to bring him here. It would blow his mind.

Tommy’s gets 1 star for atmosphere, 1 star for sweet employees, 1 star for a great idea and they get the 4^th for being bike geeks in addition to guitar geeks (add those all up to ⁴⁄₅!)
What an idea, a guitar shop that is also your corner café! I don’t know much about guitars so I can’t review that, but I can say they have some really beautiful instruments hanging on the wall. And by «beautiful» I mean double necks, neon colors, metal band signed, shaped like a woman, etc.
Tommy’s claims to have the city’s best sloppy joe. I know they have good coffee, a decent turkey reuben sammich, and really friendly staff. I love sharing my street with Tommy’s Guitars and Café.