Entry No. 118 — the Chicago file — filed under: folk
Two Way Street Coffee House
Two Way Street opened in 1970 as a drop-in center for local teens in the basement of First Congregational United Church of Christ and never really stopped, turning into a sixty-seat listening room that has run weekly Friday concerts for more than fifty years. It is still volunteer-staffed and still alcohol-free — the current openings posted are for counter help and an A/V operator. The suggested donation was $1 in the early years and $2 by the 1990s; it's $10 now, doors at 7:30 and music at 8, with every show also livestreamed to YouTube and Facebook. Between the Friday bookings the calendar fills with a Nordic music jam on first Thursdays, sing-arounds on first and third Saturdays, a country-western sing-around on fourth Saturdays, and a song circle that shifts from Tuesday to Thursday for the summer. The Last Thursday open mic, running since 2001, is reserved for high school and college-age musicians, poets and spoken-word performers.
→ Three more underground music & performance in Chicago — never the same twice
The story
Two Way Street opened in 1970 as a drop-in center for teenagers in the basement of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Downers Grove, and it is still formally an outreach ministry of that church. The early version ran weeknights with games, poetry readings and live music; the Friday night concert was the part that stuck. Fifty-plus years later it is a sixty-seat listening room that has never stopped booking weekly Friday shows, and never stopped being run by volunteers. Jennifer Ashley and Joel Simpson direct it — as of 2025 they were in their fifth year — and the posted openings are for counter help and A/V operators, which tells you the whole staffing model.
The history is a slow accumulation of small institutional habits. In 1982 the coffeehouse started recording selected performances for local cable. Through the 1980s and 90s it drew touring punk, R&B and folk acts, partnered with the Plank Road Folk Music Society on sing-arounds and barn dances, and produced a folk stage for the village's annual festival. The Last Thursday open mic, reserved for high school and college-age musicians, poets and spoken-word performers, launched in 2001; the folk singer Heather Styka came out of it. A spring flood in 2013 closed the basement for eighteen weeks of repairs, and it reopened the same year. When the 2020 shutdown hit, the room went to livestreamed concerts and took in record donations, and never gave the livestream up: every Friday show still goes out on YouTube and Facebook.
The economics stayed proportionate to the room. The suggested donation was $1 in the early years, $2 by the 1990s, and is $10 now. There is no alcohol served and none welcome, which is the original policy, not a recent one. Doors at 7:30, music at 8, sixty chairs, coffee instead of a bar tab.
What it's like
You walk into a church and go downstairs. Doors open at 7:30 for an 8pm start, seating is sixty chairs and none of them are reserved, so arriving at 7:30 rather than 7:55 is the entire strategy for a good sightline. Volunteers run the counter, the sound and the door; the $10 is a suggested donation dropped in a basket, and cash is easiest. It is a listening room in the literal sense — people are quiet during songs, the performer talks between them, and there is no bar noise to hide in because there is no bar. Alcohol isn't served and isn't welcome on the premises. The show is also being livestreamed, so the camera is real and the room behaves accordingly. Applaud, buy a CD, talk to the artist afterward; that is the normal end of the evening here.
The move: Take the Friday concert: doors 7:30, music 8, $10 each in the basket, coffee instead of a bar tab. Get there when doors open — there are only sixty seats and no reserved ones, so early arrival is the entire strategy. Joy Clark, the Louisiana guitarist and singer-songwriter, plays September 4; September 18 is Dave Rudolf and September 25 is Jan Krist.
📍 Before you go 1047 Curtiss St, in the basement of First Congregational UCC, a few blocks from the Downers Grove Main Street Metra stop on the BNSF line — roughly 35 minutes from Union Station, or a 40-minute drive from the Loop without traffic. Friday concerts: doors 7:30pm, show 8pm, $10 suggested donation, cash is easiest. Sixty seats, first come first served. No alcohol served and none welcome. Last Thursday open mic starts at 7pm and is for high school and college-age performers only. Runs year-round; the second-Tuesday song circle moves to Thursday June through August.
- 📍 Downers Grove
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Big night
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1047 Curtiss St, Downers Grove, IL 60515
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- White Fence Farm — Family-style fried chicken on the old Route 66 alignment in Romeoville, about fifteen minutes southwest — eat there first, since the coffeehouse serves coffee and not dinner.
- Val's halla Records — An Oak Park record store running since 1972, roughly the same vintage as the coffeehouse and the obvious daytime stop on the same westbound trip.
- Galloping Ghost Arcade — The loudest room in the western suburbs, in Brookfield about twenty minutes away — maximum contrast with sixty people sitting silently through a folk set.
More weird in Chicago
Good to know
How do I get to Downers Grove without a car?
The Metra BNSF line runs to Downers Grove Main Street, roughly 35 minutes from Union Station, and the church at 1047 Curtiss St is a few blocks from that stop. Driving from the Loop is about 40 minutes without traffic — check the last inbound train before you commit, since the show ends late.
What does it cost, and do I need a ticket?
Friday concerts are a $10 suggested donation, paid at the door, no advance ticket. Cash is easiest. Some special workshops and matinee events are separately registered, so check the listing for the specific date.
Can I reserve a seat?
No. Sixty seats, first come first served, doors at 7:30 for an 8pm show. If the artist is well known, treat 7:30 as the actual start time.
Is there a bar?
No — it's alcohol-free and has been since it opened in 1970 as a teen drop-in center. Coffee is the point of the name.
What happens on nights that aren't Friday?
A Nordic music jam on first Thursdays, sing-arounds on first and third Saturdays, a country-western sing-around on fourth Saturdays, and the Last Thursday open mic at 7pm, which since 2001 has been reserved for high school and college-age performers. The song circle shifts from Tuesday to Thursday for the summer.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site
📷 We made a card for this one on Instagram →
last checked: 2026-08-26