It appears a new bar called Public Bar is setting up shop where the motorcycle shop Knucklehead Alley used to be at 63 E. Congress St. I noticed a liquor license application had been filed for the address the other day, so I headed down there today to check it out.
The tell-tale green sign announcing the pending liquor license is there in the window, and workers were busy tearing out the interior today. A sprinkler was also going off inside and soaking the poor guys trying to control the flood, so I didn’t stop to ask them if they knew anything about the place.
Conversations with other people in the neighborhood lead us to believe the place is a project by some of the people associated with the nearby Sapphire nightclub. That’s strictly hearsay for now though.
I love to see more and more businesses showing up Downtown. I don’t know enough about logistics to comment on how many businesses that area can support, and sometimes I get a little nostalgic for when it was just the Chicago Store, Grill and a few bars and shops down there, but that doesn’t detract from how impressive it is to watch individual business owners transform the area.
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2012.
It’s a shame that Knucklehead couldn’t make a go of it. Sad, also, to see Vaudeville close it’s doors. Think anyone might want to renovate/reopen Grill?
Downtown can accommodate plenty of businesses. The problem is diversity. In my humble opinion Congress street is already maxed out on the type of bar/restaurant with dub music and white leather couches. DIVERSITY PLEASE! I fear the day when Club Congress is the “shadiest” bar on the block.