World of Beer coming to the Roosevelt Collection

According to an article on DNAinfo.com, The Shops at Roosevelt Collection will be the new home for World of Beer, a Tampa-based chain beer hall. According to the article, the beer hall will open next year. All of the chain’s restaurants serve food and offer more than 50 craft beers on tap and more than 500 cans and bottles. The closest World of Beer is in Evanston. To check out there beer selection, click here.

World of Beer will also offer food

You can check out the complete DNAinfo.com article here.

Spoke & Bird is close to opening

Spoke & Bird at 205 E 18th St is almost ready to open. We stopped in on Friday afternoon where barista training was in process. Free cups of coffee, including lattes, cappuccinos and other specialty beverages were served.

Look for a soft opening next weekend, serving coffee and pastries. Spoke & Bird will be featuring coffee products from Counter Culture, located in Chicago. Before long you can expect see a complete brunch menu, when they will also be serving alcoholic beverages.

For more information, please visit their Web site.

Barista training at Spoke & Bird

South Loop becoming craft beer mecca

In a recent article posted to the WTTW Web site, the South Loop is carving out a new identity as the home of craft beer breweries. We know about Vice District at 1454 S. Michigan, which opened last fall, but two other breweries are opening soon.

Motor Row Brewing, 2337 S. Michigan Ave., is set to open this month and Baderbräu Brewing Company, 2515 S. Wabash Ave., should open this summer. With Motor Row and Baderbräun opening south of Cermak, it might help spur development that has been stalled in that area for years.

Vice District Brewing Co. Opens in the South Loop

Vice District Brewing, 1454 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1, Chicago, IL is open! Friday night (last night) was the night. Free samples all around to a packed house of excited craft beer fans. Welcome to the South Loop!

The look is industrial, but warm with wood picnic-like tables, and what looks like reclaimed wood paneling, similar to the material used at The Scout. One cool feature we noticed was electric outlets along the bar so you can charge your phone or electronic device.

South Loopers mingled with hardcore beer aficionados, sampling some five new brews. One caught our eye: Everleigh, named after the famed house of prostitution located at 2131 - 2133 S. Dearborn Street.

The Everleigh Club was visited my the famous and infamous from all over the world. It was in business from February 1900 until October 1911. It was closed by Chicago’s Vice Commission. If you want to learn more about this colorful period in Chicago’s history, we recommend you read Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott.

The official opening of Vice District Brewing Co. is September 2, 2014.

“Modern Neighborhood Bar” to open on corner of 14th & Michigan

Wine will be chilled and stored on the south facing wall.

There’s a new bar going into 1400 S. Michigan Ave. It’s the corner space directly across from Chicago Firehouse. Square One is calling itself a “modern neighborhood bar.” And modern it is. South Loop Connection got a preview of the space from owner, Ron Vaisman, which is scheduled to open in mid-June.

Square One will have three flat screen TVs and one projection TV. Outdoor seating will fill up the space on 14th St. on warm days. The bar at Square One will be fully stocked with liqueur, wine, and beer. Vaisman hopes to serve specialty craft beers as well. Being a modern neighborhood bar, beers and wines will be paired with meats, cheeses, and spreads. Square One will also have a mixologist on staff, so we can expect to see some specialty house cocktails.

The bar inside is made of a combination of concrete and wood, which fits in with the modern theme. A fireplace will be installed on the north wall, while the south wall serves as the wine-tasting station and wine storage space.

As more news becomes available, including the exact opening date, we’ll report it here.