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.

Gearing up for the Taste of Chicago

The annual Taste of Chicago doesn’t start until July 6, but they’ve been gearing up for the event for several days now. The Taste runs July 6 – July 10 in Grant Park. Admission is free.

For more information on the event, including how to purchase concert and Chef Du Jour tickets, click here.

Portillo’s in the South Loop?

It looks like the Oak Brook-based chain is looking at locations in our neighborhood, this according to an article in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune. According to Nick Scarpito, Portillo’s director of marketing, they’re looking at 520 W. Taylor St., at Canal.

For a look at the complete article, click here.

National Night Out, Tuesday August 4. 2015 at Cotton Tail Park

Daystar Center Benefit Concert March 7: Two Local Bands, One Great Cause!

On Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 6pm, the Daystar Center invites you to join in a night of inspiring music while supporting their community-building efforts. 

 

There are so many reasons to attend:

·       Enjoy awesome music from both bands in two sets.

·       Relish a bonus collaboration set where the bands join together for an improvisational jam session.

·       Be one of the first to hear about and see the future of Daystar Center! They will be making a big announcement and releasing a new website during the concert. 

·       General admission is only $15 and includes complimentary appetizers and BYOB. If you’d like, bring wine or beer to enjoy during the show. For an even better deal, advance tickets are 2 for $20 online only.

·       The concert is conveniently held at 1550 S. State Street in the Auditorium space located through Overflow Coffee Bar. Overflow will be open during the concert if you’d like to purchase a beverage or food.

 

Renegade Lightning Rebellion has been bringing their indie chamber-rock sound to Chicago and surrounding areas since summer 2011. This six-piece outfit performs an eclectic batch of songs that reflect such diverse influences as contemporary Indie music (Of Montreal and Dirty Projectors), classic jazz (Miles Davis and Charles Mingus) and classical chamber music. RLR has captivated audiences throughout Chicago with their deft handling of sudden shifts in energy and instrumentation – the band, almost all multi-instrumentalists, swap freely between such unique instruments as upright bass, oboe, trumpet, violin and accordion.

 

The Under Lines Quartet is a jazz group based out of Chicago, Illinois.The group is made up of guitarist Alex Ispa-Cowan, saxophonist Con Campbell, drummer Josh Calef, and bassist Jake Hawrylak. The group performs a mix of original compositions and their own take on jazz standards.

 

The Daystar Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting arts and culture. The Center’s events gather culture-lovers together and connect audiences with local artists. The Center hosted its first concert in 2012 and currently hosts theatre, musical, and film events multiple times per month. Event details can be found at http://www.daystarcenter.org/events.html.  

 

Please call (312) 674-0001 for questions and to purchase tickets over the phone.    

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

New Restaurant opens south of Cermak

Today at 10 a.m. marks the debut of FleetWood restaurant, 2333 S. Michigan Ave. with brunch. According to their Web site, normal business hours will be 5 p.m. – 12 a.m. Thursday to Saturday; 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Thursdays feature “Acoustic Nights” with two sets, which require reservations.

Overflow Coffee Bar extends Saturday hours

Starting August 24, 2013, Overflow Coffee Bar at 1550 S. State St. will be open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

In a recent e-mail, Overflow said “We’re extending our Saturday evening hours to coincide with awesome events in our building for you to check out. . . You can come in to study, work, socialize, have a coffee date, and for some great events happening in the Auditorium connected to our space.” For information on some of what they have on the schedule, click here.

Currently, Overflow’s Saturday hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Here Comes the 2013 Bash on Wabash

Celebrating its 10th year, the Greater South Loop Association will be presenting its annual Bash on Wabash street festival on Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25; 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. The Bash on Wabash is located between 14th St. and 14th Pl.

For all ages
This year’s Bash features attractions for all ages, including a wide variety of musical acts, activities, food trucks, a kids stage as well as the participation of over 30 vendors. Admission is a $5 suggested donation. There is a $2 fee for the kids stage. A portion of the Bash proceeds will be donated to the South Loop Community Church Food Pantry.

Games and attractions
Games and attractions include free sumo wrestling, mechanical bull riding, psychic and tarot card readings, a dunk tank, animal costume contest, and aerobic, strength, yoga and dance classes. The kids stage is open 12:00 p.m. – 7 p.m. and includes face painting, hula hoop lessons, drum circle, bounce house, live music, balloon artist, arts & crafts, circus lessons and more!

New faces, new energy
This Years’s Bash On Wabash committee has plenty of new faces including T.J. Sagen, chairman of the event. Sagen has extensive experience in music management. He currently represents the Grammy-nominated rock band Disturbed, an act that has sold over 14 million albums worldwide. Other artists he represents include, Sevendust, Art Of Dying, W.E.R.M., The Lifeline, The Scissors and singer/songwriter Jess Godwin. He has also been a part of some of the world’s largest music festivals, including Europe’s Rock AM Ring and Download Festival.

Sagen has assembled a group of volunteers with experience in event and project management, writers, financial professionals, and musicians to ensure that this year’s event is a success.

All concerts sponsored by Reggies Chicago and Budweiser.

For more information, including the entertainment schedule, Bash on Wabash Web site.

Third Annual Art Walk October 19, 2012

Join The GSLA on Their 3rd Annual Art Walk through the South Loop
The 3rd Annual South Loop Art Walk will take place this Friday, October 19, 2012 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Sponsored by the Greater South Loop Association, there are nine participating galleries and businesses. Transportation from venue to venue will be provided by Reggies for $5 per person (but feel free to walk if you want to).

Get a $10 gift certificate from M Lounge

Check in at a gallery and let one of the GSLA board members know you are on the walk and they will give you a ticket worth $2 off a drink purchase at M Lounge. When you redeem your $2 drink ticket at M Lounge, you will receive a $10 gift certificate to use on a future visit. Sounds like a great deal to us.

Participating Locations (letters correspond to map but you do not need to visit them in order):

A – Elephant Room, 704 S. Wabash
B – Brasserie by LM, 800 S. Michigan Purchase a $8 Kir Royale and $2 will go to the Lynn Sage Foundation
C – Urban Remix, 1468 S. Michigan
D – Framing Mode & Gallery, 1526 S. Wabash
E – William H. Bigham Galleries, 1528 S. Wabash
F – M Lounge, 1520 S. Wabash $2 off any drink purchase when you present your drink ticket obtained from a gallery. Receive a $10 gift certificate to use on a future visit.
G – Overflow Coffee Bar, 1550 S. State Street
H – Prairie Avenue Gallery, 1900 S. Prairie
I – After party at Reggies, 2015 S. State Street

South Loop Connection Top Posts Of 2011

2011 Brings New Businesses The South Loop
2011 was a pretty exciting year for South Loop Connection and the South Loop. SLC went over 100,000 page views this year, now averaging over 7,000 reads per month. After seeing many businesses fail in the neighborhood last year, there seemed to be a resurgence of new business openings in 2011. The businesses receiving the most attention were restaurants. Just about any post having to do with food jumped to the top of the leader board.

The list that follows includes the top-ten SLC posts for 2011. You’ll notice that all but one of the posts have to do with food or new restaurant openings.

Number 10—New Restaurant to Open at 1355 S. Michigan. On October 14, 2011, a sign went up announcing the opening of a new restaurant: Alain’s opening in the space formerly occupied by Entourage Men.

Number 9—Bear’s Defensive Tackle to Open Restaurant in South Loop. Later in October, we learned that the Bears’s Israel Idonije was partnering with chef Alain Njike to open “Alain’s” at 1355 S. Michigan Ave.

Number 8—Are You “Underemployed?” The only non-food related post to make the top-ten, focused on a new MTV show centered around recent college graduates trying to make it on their own.

Number 7—Opening Date for Waffles: August 10. 2011. The new South Loop breakfast and lunch spot had announced several opening dates, all of which attracted a lot of attention.

Number 6—Scout’s Honor: The Scout’s Grand Opening is Set For August 19th and 20th. Like Waffles, The Scout had announced several opening dates. Blog posts on this new sports bar in the old Opera space attracted a lot of reads.

Number 5—New Restaurant to Open at 1400 S. Michigan. In June, a sign went up announcing that “Waffles” was opening soon, attracting over 590 reads.

Number 4—On Target: The Burger Point. On October 28, we went to this new burger restaurant at 1900 S. State St. during their soft opening. The place was packed and we spent some time meeting co-founder Asha Mathew. More than 650 readers were interested in this new South Loop eatery.

Number 3—The Scout Waterhouse & Kitchen: One Cool Space. In May, we had the opportunity to go to a press preview of The Scout. Owner Chris Bravos gave us a tour and pointed out design details throughout. It really did turn out to be one cool space, with over 670 readers in agreement.

Customers wait outside of Waffles

Number 2—Cupcake Wars Chicago Style. You almost would have to be living under a rock if you didn’t notice the recent proliferation of food trucks in Chicago. This post featured several cupcake trucks selling their bakery creations all around the city. After this blog, GiGi’s Bake Shop and the “purple bus” became a South Loop staple.

Number 1—“Waffles” to Open Late June. Waffles eventually opened in August, but this June announcement garnered over 1,650 reads.

Thank you for your support in 2011. We hope 2012 brings more good things to the South Loop. What South Loop post was your favorite?