Upcoming Events at necessary & sufficient coffee®
Community gatherings, performances, workshops, and ticketed events hosted at our cafés in Logan Square and Printers Row.
We host a rotating calendar of events—from intimate performances and readings to workshops, tastings, and neighborhood gatherings. Some events are free and drop-in; others are ticketed with limited capacity.
Neighborhood Coffee Shop Vibes with DJ Roads Clear
Ease into your Sunday with the perfect caffeine and music combo.
DJ Roads Clear will be spinning a laid-back soundtrack for your morning-to-afternoon drift through breakfast, specialty coffee, and good company.
Free entry. Full menu. Flawless vibes.
Follow @roadsclear on Instagram for more!
Live Music with Maren Naomi
Sip on a latte and enjoy a free afternoon of soothing melodies with Maren.
Originally from upstate New York, Maren is a student at Roosevelt University studying vocal jazz. She started writing music in middle school but only recently decided to start performing. Her writing style is still developing, but she has a strong focus on creating indie folk music.
“I'm excited to continue sharing my music and getting to know more people on this journey,” said Maren.
Pop-Up with The Orange Tent Project
We’re partnering with The Orange Tent Project to bring hope, connection, and care one meal, one person, and one orange tent at a time.
About The Orange Tent Project:
The Orange Tent Project is a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals experiencing homelessness through direct outreach, essential resources, and community partnerships. They provide tents, sleeping bags, hygiene supplies, clothing, meals, and other critical items while working to connect individuals with housing and supportive services. Its mission is to meet people where they are with compassion, dignity, and practical support.
Café Urban Sketching with Amy Gowans
Beginning Urban Sketching Workshop
Join travel sketcher Amy Gowans in this relaxed two-hour workshop. We will let go of the pressure to draw "perfectly" and instead explore the simple joy of choosing what to include. You'll learn to see a blank page not as something you have to fill, but as a fun space you get to design.
Through easy exercises and observing the world around us, you'll practice picking out the interesting parts of a scene, arranging them with intention, and capturing the energy in your own way. No drawing experience needed—just come ready to look, choose, and enjoy the process. Supplies will be provided if you are new to sketching.
Registration is $25. Contact Amy Gowans to register: amygchicago@gmail.com to reserve your seat.
📅 Sunday, August 30
⏰ 1:00-3:00
📍Necessary & Sufficient Coffee: 728 S Dearborn St.
Tarot Readings with Sarah - $25 Per Reading - Logan Square
Sarah has 20 years of experience in astrology and tarot, and can be found at events around Chicago with her tarot, art, and vintage pop-up.
Neighborhood Coffee Shop Vibes with DJ Roads Clear
Ease into your Sunday with the perfect caffeine and music combo.
DJ Roads Clear will be spinning a laid-back soundtrack for your morning-to-afternoon drift through breakfast, specialty coffee, and good company.
Free entry. Full menu. Flawless vibes.
Follow @roadsclear on Instagram for more!
Artist Talk and Workshop with Temo
oin this month’s featured artist, Temo, at necessary & sufficient coffee to learn about her journey as a cartoonist and how to develop your very own cartoon creation!
Artist Statement: As a new mother during the pandemic, I took a Zoom cartooning workshop from the brilliant and kind New Yorker cartoonist Asher Perlman, who taught me to draw what I know. Cartooning allowed me to create in small moments and spaces when I only had small moments and spaces to spare. It also helped me feel creative during a stressful time in my life and brought cheer to those around me.
I hope my cartoons bring cheer to you, too.
My cartoons can be found in Narrative Magazine, the Bridgeport Art Center, the Duck Inn, the Monadnock Building, and numerous private collections.
Tarot Readings with Sarah, Saturday, from 12-4 p.m. - $25 Per Reading
Sarah has 20 years of experience in astrology and tarot, and can be found at events around Chicago with her tarot, art, and vintage pop-up.
Tarot Readings with Sarah - $25 Per Reading - Logan Square
Sarah has 20 years of experience in astrology and tarot, and can be found at events around Chicago with her tarot, art, and vintage pop-up.
Neighborhood Coffee Shop Vibes with DJ Roads Clear
Ease into your Sunday with the perfect caffeine and music combo.
DJ Roads Clear will be spinning a laid-back soundtrack for your morning-to-afternoon drift through breakfast, specialty coffee, and good company.
Free entry. Full menu. Flawless vibes.
Follow @roadsclear on Instagram for more!
Chicago Loft Party pop-up with Tony Lucca
Enjoy an end-of-summer celebration with Tony Lucca at necessary & sufficient coffee!
Your VIP Experience includes:
- Laughter
- Stories
- Camaraderie
- One-on-One interaction with the artist before, after and during the event
- Finger food will be provided
Suggested donation of $30 with all money collected going to the bands! Bring extra money to buy some merch!
Seating is limited and an advanced RSVP is highly recommended.
Book Signing + Q&A with Will Quam - Fire and Clay
Uncover the architectural secrets that live within the walls of local businesses in Printer’s Row and other iconic Chicago neighborhoods with Will Quam.
Will Quam is an architecture historian, author and photographer. Since 2016, he’s shared Chicago’s architecture and history through his project Brick of Chicago, also leading award-winning walking tours for thousands across the city. His photographs and expertise have been featured by PBS Chicago, The Chicago Tribune, Block Club Chicago, McSweeney’s, and more. You can find him at @brickofchicago on Instagram.
Neighborhood Coffee Shop Vibes with DJ Roads Clear
Ease into your Sunday with the perfect caffeine and music combo.
DJ Roads Clear will be spinning a laid-back soundtrack for your morning-to-afternoon drift through breakfast, specialty coffee, and good company.
Free entry. Full menu. Flawless vibes.
Follow @roadsclear on Instagram for more!
Tarot Readings with Sarah, Saturday, from 12-4 p.m. - $25 Per Reading
Sarah has 20 years of experience in astrology and tarot, and can be found at events around Chicago with her tarot, art, and vintage pop-up.
ArtNight Chicago - Ticketed Event
Celebrate art in all its forms. From storytelling and comedy to music, uncover what the industry is doing next with ArtNight Chicago.
Friday, August 7 · Doors 7:30PM · Show 8PM · 728 S Dearborn St
For the past nine years, ArtNight has been organizing monthly community-building variety shows all around Chicago! ArtNight provides talented, passionate artists a platform to share what they love. On the first Friday of the month, Chicagoans gather to laugh, learn, and celebrate art in all its forms. From storytelling and comedy to music, uncover what the art industry is doing next with ArtNight Chicago.
August Lineup:
Tiara Bullock will be telling the story of our historic Major Taylor Trail
Zak Falouji will be enlightening us on the fascinating world of video game economies
Ronnie Frey will be taking us on a virtual tour of some of Chicago’s most beautiful doorways
Rey Tang will be performing comedy
Justin Parlette has challenged himself to learn the keys and write a song in only a month
Come early, mingle, participate in community activities, and join the discussion, then settle in as the show unfolds.
Silent Reading Night
Join us on the first Thursday of the month for Silent Reading and Writing night at the cafe from 6-8 pm.
The cafe will not be closing from 5-6 p.m. Instead, remaining customers will be notified that we’re getting ready for silent reading and writing night, and we’ll stop serving from 5-6 p.m. After that, we will have a limited menu, baked goods, bagels, and burritos.
The Cartoon Show - A Solo Exhibition by Temo
This is a cartoon show. By a cartoonist who has been rejected by the New Yorker 78 times (and counting).
But! This cartoonist has also once made negative $50 when her cartoon Abandonment Issues was published by Narrative Magazine. According to her cartoon sensei Asher Perlman (of the New Yorker), this feat makes her among the top 1 percent of cartoonists in terms of successfulness.
So come experience the dark and twisted humor of someone who continues to cheerfully make and send her cartoons off to the New Yorker after 78 rejections – attempting to summit, as they (who?) call it, the “Mount Everest of cartoons.”
Come learn from the wisdom of “10 Budget-Friendly Ways to Spruce Up Your Despair” (2023) and “Secret to Success” (2022).
Perhaps you will be inspired to purchase one of the cartoons. Or perhaps you will be moved to write a personal letter of rejection to the cartoonist, who clearly gets off on these things. What’ll it be?
Artist Bio: Temo (b. 1985, Dalian, China) is a published cartoonist, artist, and psychotherapist working in Chicago. A self-described “bumble bee” who moves freely across many artistic mediums and styles, Temo’s diverse body of work is united in the artist’s capacity to find the elephant in the room, dance with it, and capture its essence so vividly that everyone else sees it, too.
Temo was a less-than-mediocre Economics graduate of the University of Chicago and a quite good Counseling Psychology graduate of Northwestern University. She received foundational training in classical Western and Chinese art from her mother, a noted Chinese Calligrapher and fine artist. But it was her improv training from iO, the Annoyance, and the Second City that finally taught her, on the eve of her 30s, how to play, create, and be an artist on her own terms.
The People’s Palooza - 2026
We’re brewin’ up a free music and arts festival for the People.
Get ready to dance, socialize, and shop from a curated selection of food and drinks. The festival will feature performances by 14 local musicians alongside pop-up vendors offering tooth gems, prints and other handmade goods. No overwhelming crowds or expensive tickets, just good vibes.
🗓️7/31, 8/1, 8/2
⏰12-4 p.m.
📍728 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60605
People’s Palooza was created by Omar Sokoya, known professionally as DJ Roads Clear, and Necessary & Sufficient Coffee’s Community Lead, Elizabeth Hamilton, with the support of café owner Kate Vrijmoet. Omar has been spinning at the café’s Printer’s Row location since its opening three years ago.
“People’s Palooza is tearing down the paywall of music festivals,” said Omar. “Music shouldn’t be exclusive to only those who can afford it. It’s a universal truth and, to me, a public service.”
MUSICIANS:lilyulesgb, vibyanamusic, diane.xuan, inothervoices, artiedogood, roadsclear, hungu.0, kare.pkg, stevenoahtrax, xytapv, davida_beloved,rainhillll, solitocarlito, 30kbellz
VENDORS:
lindsyricepottery, magic.studiosx
Live Music with Carrie and Brian
Live music and more with Brian Fechino and Carrie Brockwell!
Carrie Brockwell is a Nashville-based, Virginia-raised singer-songwriter. With influences from artists like Carole King and Carrie Underwood, Brockwell’s music is a warm blend of country and ’70s easy listening. Brockwell just released her debut album, produced by Brian Fechino, titled “That’s Real,” available to download and stream on all platforms. Brian Fechino is a Guitarist and Producer based out of Nashville. He has worked with a huge list of artists and is a staple on The Rock Boat with his band ‘Brian Fechino and the Risky Beavers’. He also produces the Sixthman Session album every year with many of The Rock Boat’s Artists. Together they will be bringing a dynamic showcase of Carrie's powerful voice, unique songwriting, storytelling, and Brian’s Guitar playing, including some extended musical moments.
Listen here
Women in Coffee Chicago
Women in Coffee Chicago is a space for Chicago-based women and gender expansive folx in the coffee industry to connect, learn, and grow. They’re a monthly gathering, a job board and a resource hub. Each month they rotate our gathering location to highlight various cafes around Chicago, and this month, it’ll be at necessary & sufficient coffee!
Socials: @womenincoffeechicago
Email: womenincoffeechicago@gmail
Tarot Readings with Sarah - $25 Per Reading - Logan Square
Sarah has 20 years of experience in astrology and tarot, and can be found at events around Chicago with her tarot, art, and vintage pop-up.
Neighborhood Coffee Shop Vibes with DJ Roads Clear
Ease into your Sunday with the perfect caffeine and music combo.
DJ Roads Clear will be spinning a laid-back soundtrack for your morning-to-afternoon drift through breakfast, specialty coffee, and good company.
Free entry. Full menu. Flawless vibes.
Follow @roadsclear on Instagram for more!
Neighborhood Coffee Shop Vibes with DJ Roads Clear
Ease into your Sunday with the perfect caffeine and music combo.
DJ Roads Clear will be spinning a laid-back soundtrack for your morning-to-afternoon drift through breakfast, specialty coffee, and good company.
Free entry. Full menu. Flawless vibes.
Follow @roadsclear on Instagram for more!
Tarot Readings with Sarah, Saturday, from 12-4 p.m. - $25 Per Reading
Sarah has 20 years of experience in astrology and tarot, and can be found at events around Chicago with her tarot, art, and vintage pop-up.
Neighborhood Coffee Shop Vibes with DJ Roads Clear
Ease into your Sunday with the perfect caffeine and music combo.
DJ Roads Clear will be spinning a laid-back soundtrack for your morning-to-afternoon drift through breakfast, specialty coffee, and good company.
Free entry. Full menu. Flawless vibes.
Follow @roadsclear on Instagram for more!
Getting Warmer - A solo exhibition by Abby May Smith
Getting Warmer features a collection of works by Chicago-based artist Abby May Smith, tied together by their bold expressions of color. Lush violets, blues, and pinks blend with stylized subjects to create illustrative pieces that seem to fall halfway between our world and another. Inspired by the mundane and the magical alike, Abby aims to evoke feelings of serenity and enchantment through her work, allowing viewers a peek inside her rose-colored worldview.
Abby is a Chicago-based artist with a focus on painting and illustration. Originally from the Kansas City area, Abby moved to Chicago in 2019 to study at Columbia College Chicago, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Illustration in 2023. Her initial studies in digital art and animation inform her current artistic style, which revolves around colorful, stylized acrylic paintings. Abby’s work has been included in exhibitions hosted by the International Museum of Surgical Science, the Pritzker Military Museum, and In These Times. In June 2026, she won Art Battle Chicago, a live speed-painting competition, and will advance to the city finals at the end of the year.
Artist talk happening July 30th, from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Silent Reading Night
Join us on the first Thursday of the month for Silent Reading and Writing night at the cafe from 6-8 pm.
The cafe will not be closing from 5-6 p.m. Instead, remaining customers will be notified that we’re getting ready for silent reading and writing night, and we’ll stop serving from 5-6 p.m. After that, we will have a limited menu, baked goods, bagels, and burritos.
Tarot Readings with Sarah - $25 Per Reading
Sarah has 20 years of experience in astrology and tarot, and can be found at events around Chicago with her tarot, art, and vintage pop-up.
Cap’s Ice Cream Sunday
Grab the little ones and head to our Logan Square location this Sunday for a delicious frozen treat!
Cap's Ice Cream is a Mount Prospect ice cream shop serving premium, small-batch ice cream with a focus on classic favorites, seasonal flavors, and community connection. They’re proud to carry on a long local tradition of great ice cream and warm service, bringing people together one scoop at a time.
Neighborhood Coffee Shop Vibes with DJ Roads Clear
Ease into your Sunday with the perfect caffeine and music combo.
DJ Roads Clear will be spinning a laid-back soundtrack for your morning-to-afternoon drift through breakfast, specialty coffee, and good company.
Free entry. Full menu. Flawless vibes.
Follow @roadsclear on Instagram for more!
Tarot Readings with Sarah, Saturday, from 12-4 p.m. - $25 Per Reading
Sarah has 20 years of experience in astrology and tarot, and can be found at events around Chicago with her tarot, art, and vintage pop-up.