Lakeview Southport Grocery and Cafe to Close as Dollop Diner Moves In 2026

Key Points

• Located at 3552 N. Southport Ave., in the Lakeview area of Chicago, Southport Grocery and Cafe will shut its doors at the end of 2026 after operating for 23 years.
• The decision was made by owner and chef Lisa Santos and was revealed through an Instagram post, wherein she mentioned it was not an easy decision to make but that the time seemed appropriate for it.
• A new concept called Dollop Finer Diner, which will be a restaurant run by Dollop Coffee Co. (of which Santos is a partner), is set to occupy the Southport Avenue space.
• Dollop Finer Diner will feature Santos as a consultant for the business and her stake in the business will be minor.
• Long-time employees of Southport Grocery will continue to have jobs at the new concept, according to Santos.
• Until closing, the restaurant will remain operational and provide services such as Thanksgiving catering, Christmas cookies, gift baskets and two more Secret Suppers.
• Some menu items that will be returning at the restaurant include the apple-stuffed French toast and the cafe’s take on Hostess Ding Dong.
• Other news sources reporting the news include CBS Chicago, Hoodline and Southport Corridor Chicago.

Southport (Liverpool standard) October 20, 2026 — Grocery and Cafe, one of Lakeview’s longest-running neighbourhood restaurants, will close at the end of the year after 23 years on Southport Avenue, owner and chef Lisa Santos has announced. The restaurant at 3552 N. Southport Ave. will be replaced by Dollop Finer Diner, a new concept from Chicago-based Dollop Coffee Co.

As reported by Block Club Chicago, Santos said the decision to close was not easy, but that “the timing felt right.” She announced the news in an Instagram post, days before the outlet published its report on 20 October 2026.

Santos told Block Club Chicago that the restaurant had become a significant part of her life. “I have people that have worked for me for 18 years,” she said.

“They all have jobs at the new concept. They all have a soft landing.”

CBS Chicago reported on 18 October that Santos had announced the closure over the weekend and that Dollop Coffee would open a Dollop Finer Diner in the space. Southport Corridor Chicago reported that Santos confirmed the move in an Instagram reel titled “Special Announcement,” in which she appeared in the cafe’s dining room in front of a board listing the shop’s house-made preserves from 2019 to 2025.

What Will Replace Southport Grocery and Cafe?

Dollop Coffee Co., the Chicago roaster and neighbourhood cafe operator, will open Dollop Finer Diner at the Southport Avenue site. Block Club Chicago described the incoming business as a new concept rather than a direct continuation of the grocery-cafe.

Santos has been a partner at Dollop for a little more than four years, according to Block Club Chicago. The partnership originally focused on expanding wholesale pastry operations, and Santos said the two teams had worked well together.

She will retain a small stake in Dollop Finer Diner and will help with consulting and taste-testing. Santos also owns the Southport Grocery name and recipes, but told Block Club Chicago that her next chapter will not involve opening another brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Hoodline, in a report by Jo Marquez published on 19 October, noted that Dollop Diner already operates in Chicago’s Andersonville neighbourhood at 5060 N. Clark St., where it serves locally sourced American food, locally roasted coffee and craft batched cocktails. CBS Chicago likewise identified Dollop Coffee as the operator of the planned Finer Diner concept.

How Did Southport Grocery and Cafe Begin?

Southport Grocery and Cafe opened in 2003, initially serving lunch and dinner rather than breakfast. Santos left her job as an accountant, attended culinary school, prepared a business plan and waited several years before opening the restaurant, according to Block Club Chicago.

Santos recalled being uncertain after the first day of trading. “I was doing the break-even analysis in my head and thinking, ‘We are never going to make it,’” she told Block Club Chicago. “But we found our footing, everyone got used to the crowds and here we are all these years later.”

Breakfast soon became central to the business. Santos said servers recorded customer requests in a notebook, and repeated demand led her to add breakfast to the menu. She cited a customer who ordered two portions of the restaurant’s bread-pudding pancakes as a turning point.

Two years after opening, the restaurant was featured on WTTW’s Check, Please! Block Club Chicago reported that staff used to monitor repeat broadcasts of the episode because each airing brought a new wave of customers.

What Made the Restaurant a Lakeview Institution?

Over more than two decades, Southport Grocery and Cafe became known as a neighbourhood favourite and a culinary staple in Lakeview. Block Club Chicago described it as one of the most recognisable restaurants in the city.

The business expanded beyond its original dining room. Santos used the exposure from Check, Please! to expand to the second floor of the Southport Avenue building, where the bakery operated.

The restaurant also launched a supper club series and developed a canning and preserves operation that now produces more than 40 items. Santos said the preserves business grew out of the financial crisis, when she sought ways to keep the grocery stocked with quality products without relying on shipments from elsewhere. The operation now employs a full-time preservationist.

Hoodline reported that the cafe operated from a former funeral home and served breakfast and lunch for more than two decades. Southport Corridor Chicago described it as an all-day breakfast-and-lunch cafe and specialty grocery, open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. until the closure.

What Will Customers See Before Closing?

Until the end of the year, Southport Grocery and Cafe will continue normal operations. Block Club Chicago reported that customers can expect Thanksgiving catering, Christmas cookies, gift baskets and two more Secret Suppers before the restaurant closes.

The restaurant is also bringing back older menu items that customers have continued to request. These include apple-stuffed French toast and the cafe’s version of a Hostess Ding Dong.

Hoodline reported that the grown-up Pop-Tart had also returned to the menu, while Ding Dong cake had returned at checkout. Santos told the outlet that chicken and grits was expected to return before closure.

Santos said in the Instagram video reported by CBS Chicago that she wanted to celebrate through to the end rather than simply close the business. “We want to celebrate all the way to end,” she said, according to CBS Chicago’s report.

What Happens to Southport Grocery Staff?

Santos said longtime employees would move to the new Dollop concept. Block Club Chicago reported that staff who had worked at Southport Grocery for as long as 18 years would all have jobs at Dollop Finer Diner.

The transition is therefore expected to retain much of the restaurant’s experienced workforce, although the report did not specify how many employees would transfer or what roles they would hold. Santos’s continuing involvement as a partner, consultant and taste-tester suggests an operational connection between the outgoing and incoming businesses.

Background of the Development

Southport Grocery and Cafe opened in 2003 at 3552 N. Southport Ave., after Santos moved from accounting into culinary work. The restaurant began with lunch and dinner service, added breakfast after customer demand, and later expanded into baking, preserves, catering and ticketed supper events.

Its connection with Dollop began more than four years ago through a wholesale pastry partnership, according to Block Club Chicago. CBS Chicago reported that Dollop Coffee had been served at the cafe under a partnership that began three years earlier. Dollop already operates multiple coffee shops across Chicago, as well as a Dollop Diner in Andersonville.

The closure marks the end of a 23-year run for the independent grocery-cafe, while keeping the Southport Avenue premises in restaurant use under a related local hospitality brand.

Prediction: How Will This Affect Lakeview Diners?

For Lakeview residents, regular customers and Southport Corridor workers, the change will mean the loss of a familiar independent grocery-cafe brand, but not necessarily the loss of a breakfast-and-lunch destination. Dollop Finer Diner is expected to continue operating at the same address, while Santos’s involvement may preserve some continuity in food quality and staff experience.

Customers who value Southport Grocery’s preserves, bakery items and seasonal traditions may need to use the final weeks of 2026 to buy holiday goods, attend the remaining Secret Suppers or order Thanksgiving catering. The return of discontinued dishes also gives regulars a limited opportunity to revisit menu items associated with the restaurant’s history.

For the wider Southport Avenue business corridor, the arrival of Dollop Finer Diner is likely to maintain foot traffic at the site, though the character of the offering may shift from a grocery-led cafe to a diner-led restaurant concept. Local shoppers and brunch customers should watch for announcements from Dollop about its opening date and menu.