Coffee Shop A Hit After 1 Year In Evergreen Park

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — "Evergreen Park never had a coffee shop like this I tell ya," says Ted, a crossing guard at Southwest Elementary School near 99th and Central Park. Ted is referring to Murray's Browse & Brew, the quaint coffee bar and vendor outlet that's been open for more than a year now. Just a walk down the street from Southwest, it is the ideal spot for Ted to spend time in between his crossing guard shifts.

"Ted has been great. He is a regular, for sure, and we've had a few others," Joannie Murray, the shop's owner, said. "Some people come in with their kids, or their dogs. We try to give them a nice, relaxing, homey atmosphere."

In addition to a full coffee bar with numerous drink options and some food too, Murray's is distinctive in the number of other goods offered there. It has developed as a bit of a daily farmer's market with now 20 or so vendors selling their work at the spot, which sits in the geographical center of Evergreen Park's Southwest quad between Central Park and Clifton Park on 99th Street.

Vendors have available paints, rustic signs, gardening products, baby clothes, essential oils and more. Pick up some gift shop-like shirts that say "Chicago" or "Evergreen Park" or maybe a pillow or flask.

"We have a lot of home decor things," said Murray, a lifelong South Sider who grew up in Mount Greenwood and has lived just around the corner from the coffee shop in Evergreen Park for most of her adult life.

"We want people to be able to come in and decorate their homes, sit down and have a cup of coffee and relax. That's why we named it 'Browse & Brew.'"

"This all kind of just evolved," Murray said. "People who made their own stuff at home would ask if they could bring it here. So what started as maybe 5 or 6 vendors has turned into much more."

It has become a spot Murray says has "come through for a lot of last-minute gifts."

So much that Murray's ended up trading leases with the owner of a hair salon one door to the east before even opening. Murray was originally set to open at a smaller space, but now has all of this going on at a spot much larger, one with a backyard that has been open all summer and will likely remain so throughout the fall.

With plans in the works to host painting parties, acupuncture sessions and other private and public events, Murray hopes the shop will become a hot spot in the neighborhood for years to come.

And although their location on 99th Street is not considered to be along a major thoroughfare, the traffic is quite heavy, especially during the school year.

"We've been getting a lot of Mother McAuley and Brother Rice kids," Murray said, adding hopes that more students at Saint Xavier University find the place to be college-friendly as well. Equipped with speedy WiFi and a quiet backyard on nice days, it has been dubbed by at least one Chicagoland blogger of the best places in the area to get things done.

If there's enough of a demand, Murray says she'd even consider expanding the shop's hours late into the evening or even overnight.

"We'd just like them (Saint Xavier students) to know we are here," Murray said. "If we had the demand for it, we'd do it."

The shop is already in high demand for the many Evergreen Park residents and school families who use 99th Street as a thoroughfare.

"It's the walking route, or running route, for so many people and many times they will stop in here on their way," Murray said.

As part of a back-to-school special, Murray's is offering all 10 oz. coffee drinks for $1 until the end of September. Mention this Patch article for the discount.

Murray says it has been the many friends and family of her and her husband, Jim who initially made the spot a hit in town. It helped that they are both from the neighborhood, Jim growing up in the St. John Fisher parish and Joannie coming from the Queen of Martyrs area.

But it's the "overwhelming support" of others in the neighborhood who did not know them that has made the business such an immediate success.

"The overwhelming support of the neighborhood has been really great," she said. "Even more so from the people we haven't known from the area who have come in and become friends."

Photos by Tim Moran / Patch