Chicago is finally getting an Eagle leather bar after more than a decade without one. In fact, it might get two.
In mid-September, George Dante Pineda announced the Eagle Chicago would be opening in Andersonville to carry on the legacy of Chicago leatherman and businessman Chuck Renslow and his partner of more than three decades, Chicago’s first out gay attorney, columnist and LGBTQ+ activist Ron Ehemann.
Though the announcement came just weeks ago, Pineda registered the business with the state in 2022, and says plans have been in the works to open something since then; but it just so happened that right when he started making final moves to announce his plans, another group was doing the same.
Just a day after Pineda’s announcement, HV Entertainment — a company that operates a handful of bars in the city including Fantasy Nightclub—announced the opening of the “real” Chicago Eagle in what was formerly the drag venue The Baton Show Lounge, which was open for more than 50 years. According to the Lounge’s website, HV Entertainment bought the bar in April.
And in what could lay the foundation of a possible legal fight between the two bars, an application to trademark the name “Chicago Eagle” was filed in late March. An application to trademark “Eagle Chicago” was filed on Sept. 22, however.
Eagle Chicago is tentatively planned to open in September 2026, with pop ups at gay bars leading up to the opening. Photo by Adam Rhodes
The dueling announcements ignited a firestorm online and sparked a debate over which bar was the “real” Eagle. Among the memes and jokes were serious, genuine conversations from leatherfolk about each bar owner’s intentions, authenticity of the spaces and which bar is going to represent Chicago’s leather community properly.
Both owners were reluctant to wade into the discourse, but for his part, Pineda said there’s room for both bars in the city.
At the former Baton Show Lounge, the owners of the Atlanta Eagle gave a sneak peek at the space ahead of the Chicago Eagle’s opening this fall. Photo by Adam Rhodes
“We can have two Eagles here if that’s their intent,” Pineda said. “I’m just making sure that how we present ourselves out there will make a difference [and demonstrate] what we’re going to be bringing to the community as the new Eagle Chicago.”
The original Chicago Eagle was founded decades ago by Renslow, who also famously founded the Leather Archives & Museum in Chicago as well as the International Mr. Leather contest that draws thousands to the city every year over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. While Renslow’s Chicago Eagle closed more than 14 years ago, other fetish-friendly bars like Cellblock and Jackhammer have taken up the modern mantle.
Though the “Eagle” name isn’t owned by a particular person per se, bars across the globe using the name in some fashion are part of a loose, unaffiliated but spiritually connected leather bars. In effect, the “Eagle” name is a silent signal to those in the know of what to expect inside—typically people in leather, if anything at all, and an inclusive, sex-positive, kink-friendly space that feels increasingly rare these days.
As one local leatherman put it, “if you have an Eagle bar in a city, that means you have a home.”
While Pineda says he had the support of Ehemann before his death last year, HV Entertainment benefits from already running a number of bars and clubs across the country, and perhaps most importantly, already owns the Atlanta Eagle leather bar. While Pineda’s business has yet to be built, the former Baton was under construction during a Saturday preview that coincided with a fetish dress code night commonly held at the space.
At a brand launch party for the Eagle Chicago held at the Foundation Room in the House of Blues downtown, which typically hosts the annual IML victory party, Pineda said his bar will start as a second-floor space until a downstairs tenant moves. Inspiration photos and blueprints displayed by project architects showed tufted couches, long banquets and cocktail tables and an outdoor deck overlooking the neighborhood.
Until the bar can open in about a year, Pineda says he plans to host pop ups in other gay bars around the city—and is even planning a Mr. Chicago Eagle contest for February.
Pineda says the Andersonville location, between Hollywood and Edgewater Avenues, is intentionally close to the former site of Man’s Country bathhouse that Renslow also owned and operated. The bathhouse, which sat between Winnemac Avenue and Argyle Street in Andersonville, was a complex of dance floors, dark rooms and debauchery that also hosted internationally recognized acts like the Village People and Divine before it closed On Jan. 1, 2018, after a New Year’s Eve sendoff.
In an interview with the Windy City Times, Pineda hinted at the possibility of similar bars cropping up elsewhere.
“I want an Eagle in Manila, or Puerto Vallarta, hint-hint, and any other major city we want in this 20-year-plan,” Pineda said. “What we’re doing is making sure that if we perfect this like McDonald’s or any other company that is, you know, very structured, we can duplicate that or replicate that to any other city.”
As for plans for the Chicago Eagle in the former Baton space, HV Entertainment and Chicago Eagle managers did not respond to multiple interview requests from Windy City Times. But former Atlanta Eagle owner Richard Ramey, who now works with HV Entertainment, told Block Club that the bar will honor the legacy of the historic space, with a dedicated room, the same cast and shows Fridays through Sundays.
Jim Flint, the now-former owner of the Baton, says he is very pleased with HV Entertainment’s plans for the space, especially their homage to the drag bar.
“I’m very happy about them keeping the room with the Baton,” Flint said. “And, of course, years ago I had the Redoubt [leather bar], so I was very involved in the leather scene for years. So it’s very positive. Now I can enjoy both things equally when I go there.”
And Flint says he still plans to host events in the space, including for the Continental pageant system.
“I’m still going to hold Continental events there, and pageants there and I’ll constantly work with them,” Flint said. “I mean, I’m very happy about the whole situation.”
And as much as the online discourse around the two bars’ legitimacy has arguably eclipsed the announcements themselves, many in the community are quick to recognize the importance of any out and proud leather bar—let alone two—opening up in a city, even one that embracing its kink community as fiercely as Chicago.
For Vince Jay, 2024’s Mr. Chicago Leather, leather bars like these aren’t just bars, but places of safety, security and possibility.
“The first leather bar I went to was the Atlanta Eagle in 1999, and was the first time I saw flogging, wax play, and leather folks enjoying themselves,” he said. “I would welcome any bar called the Eagle who stands for inclusivity, safe spaces, and provides our community a place to gather during these challenging times.”
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