Home > Chicago Bars & Clubs > Brewpub > Marie's Rip Tide Lounge

What sets the Rip Tide Lounge apart from other Chicago watering holes with a 4 a.m. license is Marie Wuczynski, the grandmotherly woman you'll find pressing the flesh somewhere within a crowd of revelers with, dare we say, less than half her life experience. Wearing her trademark light blue shirt (way back when, it was navy) embroidered with golden notes, the white-haired proprietress works both sides of the aisle, breaking the ice quicker than a round of tequila shots. When the mood strikes her, she'll break out her famous five-penny magic trick, strike up a sing-along or bend your ear with stories of times past in a voice coarsened by years of cigarette smoke. There's no cooler setting for enjoying a drink after hours. Marie has been perfecting the lounge ambience since she hired her first polka band in 1961. The gentrification of the surrounding neighborhood has brought major changes to the clientele, if not the decor, over the years. A fun-loving group of Lincoln Parkers and Bucktown/Wicker Park types have supplanted the working-class Poles who once populated the bar stools and booths along the wall. The new customers migrate here mostly after midnight, after other places close. Music comes from a jukebox brimming with soulful crooners whose prime belonged to another era, including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones ("a box full of memories," says Marie). For the full effect, stop in close to one of the major holidays. Marie has a penchant for holiday decorations -- a winter wonderland around Christmas, a bevy of velvet hearts for Valentine's Day. Also, check out the vintage '60s skeet arcade game that hangs over the bar.

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Bucktown/Wicker Park bars, Chicago bars, Bucktown/Wicker Park clubs, Chicago clubs, Brewpub bars, Lounge bars, Neighborhood bars