Cafe by day,
sober bar by night.
Coffee with a cause.
The Other Side is a countercultural "third space." Voted a top 7 sober bar in the nation in 2025, we have 10 weekly recurring support groups and a jam packed social calendar. Everything that happens under our roof is completely substance-free.
As the sun goes down, the venue transforms from cafe to sober bar. The unique atmosphere we offer is owned and managed by our parent charity, New Directions Addiction Recovery Services. New Directions' mission is inspiring recovery, fostering community, and saving lives.
The Other Side offers an innovative and unique approach to preventing isolating and encouraging positive socialization, to address underlying causes of SUD and relapse. The Other Side also offers a Family Support Group- a community centered on providing tools and support for those indirectly affected by alcoholism. The meeting takes place every Wednesday at 7:00pm!
Link to our charity:
What We Do
We focus on three major services for patrons in Crystal Lake. Our bottom line is our unicorn social scene- a unique environment that cements McHenry County as one of the most supportive recovery communities in the nation.
A Great Menu
Our Crystal Lake coffee shop has a rotating cafe and bar menu, as well as all things coffee. For afternoon and evening crowds, we present kombucha and mocktails.
Patrons can enjoy quick bites and drinks in comfortable seating while watching our T.V.s. Whatever you purchase, remember that your money is going straight to the recovery community.
A Meeting Space in Crystal Lake
Note that this space is separate from the café. For $20/hr., you can rent this nice, quiet space whose schedule for availability is on our website. You can also request catering for the space, whether you’d like a coffee dispenser or a tray of pastries.
Not only does this make a perfect meeting space in Crystal Lake for the recovery community, but it may be beneficial to other organizations, including nonprofits, civic groups, network meetings and even birthday parties. Again, all proceeds go straight to the recovery community.
A Welcoming Community
Our community is bigger than the recovery community. Anyone can come in and feel welcome.
It’s a place for fellowship as well as friendship, presenting plenty of opportunities for recreation and professional networking. We’re happy to host live music, comedians, trivia, Sunday night football and fundraisers. We’re always looking for more fun events to host.
Today, The Other Side is a perfect place to grab a cup of coffee or an egg sandwich, and it supports the recovery process for those who want to enjoy a better relationship with drinking. It’s among few spots where customers can socialize without substances.
Helping Our Mission
The Other Side is the project that started New Directions Addiction Recovery Services. NDARS was handed down to us, and we put it on the map with our sober bar in a warehouse. Since this initial project, NDARS has evolved into the several subgroups we have today.
Through generous donations over the years, we could establish two sober homes for men and one for women so that more people could enjoy the structure and support necessary to begin the recovery journey.
Later, in partnership with A Way Out, we established a 24/7 support hotline for relapse and recovery to provide guidance and assist those seeking treatment. We’d gradually take over this project on McHenry county’s behalf.
Once we had our hotline and sober homes down to a science, we opened our first “¾-living” home, which is an affordable place for people to go after recovering in genuine sober homes. There are no curfews or advisers present, but all tenants are recovering people who want to stay dry.
Next, we took possession of the old Pioneer Homeless Shelter, which provided two buildings to use as affordable alternatives for treatment among people without insurance.
The Other Side’s migration to this coffee shop is only our most recent project. Our future goal is to partner with local stakeholders to fund and construct more “¾-living” homes.
These efforts are where your dollars go when you enjoy coffee at The Other Side. You can make a direct impact on people recovering from addiction and substance abuse.
With enough donations, sober homes can eventually support themselves because finding jobs for newly sober people is also part of our mission. When they get jobs, they can pay the fees to maintain their sober home instead of needing donations.
To support our expansive network of sober living, please pay us a visit, host a lunch or make a donation.