Southport Grocery and Cafe

What Southport Grocery and Cafe does

Southport Grocery and Cafe is a privately held, founder-owned neighborhood bistro and specialty grocery founded in 2003 by Lisa Santos (former CPA turned culinary school graduate) and operating from a single location at 3552 N Southport in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. The business combines a from-scratch breakfast-and-lunch cafe (open daily 8 AM-3 PM, indoor and outdoor seating), a curated specialty grocery featuring house-made preserves, pickles, and mustards alongside products from local Chicago artisans, holiday and event catering, an online shop shipping preserves, pancake mixes, and gift boxes nationwide, and a recurring Secret Supper underground dining series.

The core product is made-from-scratch food built around direct supplier relationships (Driftless Organics for organic potatoes, Lange's Farm for Illinois produce, Green City Market and Slow Food Chicago connections). Credentialing includes a 2013 Michelin Guide recommendation and Good Food Awards for Dilly Beans and Smoked Onion Marmalade, supported by consistent press coverage in the New York Times, Saveur, Serious Eats, Time Out Chicago, and other national and regional publications. The house-made preserve line and gift box portfolio (price points $48-$140) extend the brand beyond the single storefront.

Revenue is generated through five streams: dine-in cafe service, grocery retail, holiday/event catering (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's, Easter, Mother's Day, New Year's Eve), e-commerce direct shipping of shelf-stable products, and takeout/delivery via Toast and Caviar. Go-to-market is primarily direct-to-consumer and local, with the e-commerce site and catering platform adding modest nationwide and event-driven reach. The business is bootstrapped with no external funding, no parent company, and a headcount of approximately 16, including long-tenured staff (some with 5-15+ years of tenure) and a dedicated in-house Preservationist.

Name

Southport Grocery and Cafe

Legal name

Southport Grocery and Cafe

Website

https://southportgrocery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurant & Specialty Grocery

NAICS

Retail Bakeries (311811), Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Specialty Food Retailers (4452)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA), Prepared Foods & Catering-Focused Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAM)

Keywords

• Breakfast cafe
• Specialty grocery
• Holiday catering
• House-made preserves
• Artisanal food products

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Cafe Dining: Revenue from dine-in breakfast and lunch service offering from-scratch cooking including specialty items like bread pudding pancakes, brisket & gravy, and house-made preserves. Kitchen closes 30 minutes prior to closing.
2. Grocery Retail: Sales of specialty grocery items including house-made preserves, pickles, mustards, and curated artisanal products from local producers. Products featured on their blog and social media.
3. Catering Services: Catering services for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day) and special events featuring made-from-scratch, ready-to-heat-and-serve menu items.
4. E-commerce/Online Shop: Direct online sales of products including preserves, pancake mixes, gift boxes, and specialty items shipped to customers.
5. Takeout & Delivery: Takeout and delivery orders through Toast and Caviar platforms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Southport Grocery and Cafe operates a from-scratch breakfast and lunch cafe, a specialty grocery featuring house-made preserves, pickles, and mustards alongside curated local artisanal products, catering services for holidays and events, and a nationwide e-commerce shop for shipped preserves, pancake mixes, and gift boxes. The Lakeview, Chicago establishment combines neighborhood bistro dining with retail and online sales of its own preserved goods.

Product overview

Southport Grocery and Cafe operates as a unified neighborhood bistro combining a cafe, specialty grocery, and online retail store. The cafe serves breakfast and lunch all day with house-made dishes, while the grocery offers artisanal preserves, pickles, and locally sourced products. The business also provides catering services for holidays and events, an online store for shipping preserves and specialty items, and hosts monthly Secret Supper dining experiences. The product portfolio centers on from-scratch food preparation, local ingredient sourcing, and artisanal preserved goods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cafe Breakfast and Lunch Service Full-service dine-in breakfast and lunch restaurant offering made-from-scratch dishes including breakfast all day, kids menu, lunch items, scratch baked goods, and refreshments, served daily with indoor and outdoor seating in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.
• Specialty Grocery Retail In-store retail section selling house-made preserves, pickles, mustards, and curated artisanal products from local Chicago producers. Customers can browse shelves and ask staff questions.
• Catering Services Full-service catering for holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and New Year's Eve, plus special events. Made-from-scratch, ready-to-heat-and-serve menu items ordered through Toast Catering.
• Online Store E-commerce platform for purchasing house-made preserves, pancake mixes, gift boxes, and specialty food items with shipping available nationwide.
• Secret Supper Dining Series Monthly underground dinner experience held at 7pm featuring a rotating seasonal menu separate from the regular cafe offerings, including a Summer Supper Series.
• Gift Boxes and Gift Baskets Curated gift baskets and boxes featuring eatables, preserves, pancake mixes, scone mix, cookies, and specialty food items for holidays, appreciation gifts, clients, friends, and special occasions, with delivery, shipping, or local pickup.
• House-Made Preserves, Pickles, and Mustards In-house crafted preserves, pickles, and mustards including Dilly Beans (Good Food Award winner), Smoked Onion Marmalade (Good Food Award winner), Bread & Butter Pickles, Pickled Green Tomatoes, Apricot Preserves, Ramp Mustard, Backyard Relish, and seasonal fruit preserves.
• Takeout and Delivery Takeout and delivery orders of cafe menu items and prepared foods placed through Toast Takeout & Delivery and Caviar third-party delivery platforms.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Slow Food ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Southport Grocery owner Lisa Santos serves on the Slow Food Chicago Board. The business participated in Slow Food initiatives including donating heirloom tomato seedlings for fundraising. Slow Food Chicago is a nonprofit dedicated to equity and sustainability of local food systems.
• Hot Doug'sminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthport Grocery started wholesale distribution with Hot Doug's, the famous encased meat purveyor in Chicago. Their Smoked Onion Marmalade was featured on Hot Doug's menu as 'Smoked Texas Pork Hot Link with Ancho Pepper Mayo, Garlic-Cheddar Cheese Spread & Smoked Onion Marmalade'. Hot Doug's closed in 2014 but this represented their first wholesale account.
• Driftless OrganicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSource for organic potatoes from Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Run by two brothers who started growing potatoes at ages 9 and 11. They grow over 20 varieties of potatoes and supply the red potatoes used in Southport's mashed potatoes and hash. Southport purchases significant quantities and features them prominently on their menu.
• Lange's FarmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFamily-owned farm in Elwood, Illinois since 1993 with over 40 years farming experience. Supplies produce to Southport Grocery including nearly 100lbs of green tomatoes for Pickled Green Tomatoes, cherry tomatoes for salads, dill for Dilly Beans, and more. Participates in Lincoln Square Farmer's Market making sourcing convenient.
• Green City MarketminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChef Derrick represented Southport Grocery at Green City Market, connecting with local food sources. The market is Chicago's premier sustainable food farmers market.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Panera Bread: National bakery-cafe chain with a broad menu, retail baked goods, and a strong digital/catering platform. Comparable in cafe + bakery + catering + digital ordering business model, but at dramatically larger scale.
• Le Pain Quotidien: Global bakery-cafe chain serving breakfast, lunch, and retail bakery items. Comparable in combining cafe service with retail packaged goods, but operates at significantly larger scale.
• La Colombe: Established coffee and cafe operator with food offerings and retail packaged goods. Comparable in the cafe + packaged food/e-commerce hybrid, though at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Direct peers

• Floriole Cafe & Bakery: Chicago cafe-bakery combining breakfast/lunch service with a strong retail bakery and pastry program. Directly comparable to Southport's cafe + scratch baked goods + retail grocery hybrid model.
• The Bongo Room: Chicago-based breakfast and lunch institution with multiple locations, known for scratch cooking and creative pancake dishes. Directly comparable to Southport's breakfast/lunch cafe concept and from-scratch cooking philosophy in the same Chicago market.
• Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits: Chicago cafe-bakery offering scratch pies, biscuits, and breakfast/lunch service. Comparable in combining a neighborhood cafe with house-made baked goods sold retail.
• Yolk: Multi-unit Chicago breakfast/brunch chain with a scratch cooking philosophy. Comparable in breakfast/lunch focus and from-scratch positioning, though at greater scale.
• Meli Cafe: Chicago-based breakfast and brunch cafe chain with a similar menu of creative breakfast items, pancakes, and lunch fare. Comparable operating format, daypart, and urban neighborhood customer base.
• M. Henry: Chicago neighborhood breakfast/lunch spot with a strong reputation for from-scratch, globally-inspired menu and house-made goods. Comparable in scale, daypart, and craft-food positioning to Southport.
• First Slice Pie Cafe: Chicago nonprofit cafe offering scratch breakfast/lunch and baked goods. Comparable Chicago cafe operating model and daypart to Southport.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/southportgrocer
• Facebookfacebook.com/Southport.Grocery.and.Cafe
• Pinterestpinterest.com/southportgrocer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southport-grocery-and-cafe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southport Grocery and Cafe