A warm drink before the train, a pastry over conversation or a coffee break between holiday errands: Wilmette’s cafés offer several ways to settle into the season as fall gives way to the holidays.
Near the Metra UP-N station, Central Station Coffee and Tea and the newly opened Sweet Moon Café offer neighborhood stops for commuters and residents. Farther west, Goddess and the Baker has a menu featuring pumpkin, apple, cinnamon and toffee flavors.
Central Station’s main café, at 1150 Central Avenue, serves coffee, tea and pastries daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. For an early weekday pickup, its Train Bodega inside the Wilmette Metra station, at 722 Green Bay Road, opens Monday through Friday from 6 to 9:30 a.m., according to the café’s website.
The two locations suit different seasonal routines: a quick cup before a morning commute or a longer break downtown as holiday preparations begin.
Sweet Moon Café recently opened its second location at 1222 Washington Court near the station. Its scratch-made pastries blend Central Asian, Eastern European and American baking traditions. The café also serves breakfast, lunch, coffee and smoothies Wednesday through Monday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Patch reported.
The bakery is known for its layered honey cakes, according to The Record North Shore, offering another sweet pairing for a late-fall coffee break.
For readers specifically seeking seasonal drinks, Goddess and the Baker at 3232 Lake Avenue lists a Pumpkin Apple Butter Latte combining pumpkin, apple, caramel and cinnamon flavors. Its menu also includes a Brown Butter Toffee Latte and an iced Cinnamon Roll Shaken Cortado, according to its Wilmette ordering menu.
Those flavors bring a fall focus to the local coffee circuit while residents await more holiday offerings. Seasonal selections and availability can change, so check current menus before heading out.
