Cafe with a time limit on weekends, my Sunday routine is broken

I've spent every Sunday at a place called Urban Bean in Chicago for about 6 months. Last weekend, they put a table sign that said 'weekend seating max 60 minutes' and started enforcing it hard. I tried to negotiate with the manager, saying I order multiple things and tip well, but he said they need the turnover for brunch crowds. That killed my whole Sunday ritual, and now I'm scrambling to find a replacement spot with a similar vibe. I found one called Loft & Latte that's a 15 minute train ride, but it's not the same. Have any of you lost a favorite cafe to a new time limit, and how long did it take you to find a new one?

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jamieperez1mo ago

I saw a piece about this exact thing on a local news blog, how cafes are using time limits to flip tables faster on weekends because brunch is where the real money is. It sucks that places like Urban Bean used to be about hanging out, but now they're basically fast food for coffee. I had a spot in Wicker Park that did the same thing to me last year, and I honestly bounced between three different places for two months before I found one that didn't have a timer. The hardest part is finding a place that doesn't treat you like a customer but like a nuisance if you want to sit with a book for a few hours. Loft & Latte might be a longer ride, but I'd say give it a shot on a weekday first, see how chill it actually is before you commit your Sunday to it. Sometimes the new spot ends up being better because you're forced to try something fresh, but I get that the ritual part is hard to rebuild.

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