1914 is aiming to open mid-to-late September.
When Clark Street’s strip of sports bars gets to be too much, you only need to weave your way through Red Ivy to get to this speakeasy-inspired lounge from the bar’s owners. The fictional backstory for the spot goes like this: It’s 1914 and high society is sipping cocktails, livin’ it up. Then 1920 rolls around and Prohibition kicks in—the next thing you know, secret drinking establishments known as speakeasies start popping up. So, 1914 brings that clandestine spirit alive by making you enter the speakeasy only after you’ve exited Red Ivy. Dapper bartenders wear white collared shirts, black ties and white dusters (a.k.a. lightweight jackets similar to a butcher’s coat); waitresses don flirty flapper apparel.
Feeling sneaky? Order a specialty cocktail off a menu designed to throw off the brass: Chicken Soup Strong is actually whiskey, and signature drinks like this are served in soup bowls or tea cups. Despite all these throwbacks, there’ll still be TVs since this is Wrigleyville after all—and you’ve gotta be able to check the score on your Cubbies, right?