For the record, Nick Kokonas had no intention of opening a bar. Kokonas (not to be confused with a certain Alinea and Tock founder) had spent the last five years happily bartending at Avondale Bowl, a restored 1920s bowling alley and bar. His resume includes stints at Queen Mary, Longman & Eagle, and Greenriver, which he helped open alongside Kumiko’s James Beard Award-winning chef and bartender Julia Momosé. A few years prior, his self-published book, Something & Tonic: The History of the World’s Most Iconic Mixer, won an International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) award.
But owning a bar became more tangible — perhaps even irresistible — when a friend told him about a for-lease sign in the window of an historic Avondale building. Kokonas, who lives nearby, checked it out on a whim.
“As soon as I walked in, I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m opening a bar,’” he says. “I immediately fell in love with the aesthetic. The idea of taking something that’s old and reviving it is very much up my alley.”
The family of Belmont Tavern’s former owners shared photos of the old bar with Kokonas. Belmont Tavern
On Saturday, February 7, a year and a half after that initial walk-through, Kokonas will open Belmont Tavern and bring the one-time Polish dive bar, dormant for 25 years, back to life. This labor of love combines Kokonas’s 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry with a passion — and the know-how — for restoration, a journey he documented on Belmont Tavern’s Instagram and helped along with a community development grant from the city.
When it came to crafting the beverage menu, affordability was front and center for Kokonas. All the cocktails will be $12. “I want this to be a casual environment, but just because you’re in a casual environment doesn’t mean that you can’t have extraordinary cocktails,” he says.
The improved gin martini. Neil Burger
The Coin Toss. Neil Burger
Titled “Everything Old Is New Again,” the menu is organized by base spirits ranging from tequila and rye to brandy and dark rum. The 26 cocktails are a cross-section of ones Kokonas has created during his two decades in the industry with updates here and there. There’s the vodka-based Freshly Mowed Lawn that includes Bison Grass vodka, apple, and sherry, while the unclarified milk punch features Averna amaro, coffee, sherry, tonic, and angostura milk.
Balance, above all else, is a defining factor of his cocktails. “I want the first sip to be just as tasty as the last sip,” he says. He also looks to create drinks that are straightforward. “I wanted to eliminate the anxiety of looking at a menu and being overwhelmed, so I keep the explanations very simple.” The staff will get a chance to create cocktails of their own with a weekly special.
Like the cocktails, wine by the glass will be $12, too. In fitting with its historic roots, the only beer on tap will be Old Style. A rotating selection of various beer styles will be available by the can and bottle. A happy hour special, dubbed the Bus Tracker — referencing Belmont Tavern’s proximity to the Blue Line Belmont El stop and multiple bus stops — will feature a six-ounce pour of Old Style and a rotating shot. An nonalcoholic version, the Ghost Bus, will sub in a basic nonalcoholic beer, like O’Doul’s, with a nonalcoholic shot. Both will be $4.
Retro photos from the tavern now adorn the revived bar. Belmont Tavern
Food is limited to shelf-stable snacks, but guests are welcome to bring in their own. “There’s plenty of good food around here,” says Kokonas, who cites Mic Duck’s burger and hot dog stand next door and Joong Boo Market a block away.
Belmont Tavern has come a long way from when Kokonas first saw it. Built in 1890, the building was originally a butcher shop, grocery store, and saloon. But a lot has remained the same too — albeit with some major touch-ups — including the beautiful glass-brick bar, tin ceiling, and pegged wood floor. The original back bar features a walnut display and shelving unit running the long length of it. Above it are tufted leather accents illuminated with tube light fixtures.
“It’s got charm, history, and a patina to it,” says Kokonas. “I want people to be able to come here and find little interesting things they can fall in love with.”
The initial work revolved around getting the leased 1,600-square-foot space with capacity for 60 up to code. Previously it was being used as storage space by the apartment dweller above it, who happened to be the daughter of the brothers that founded the bar in the 1930s. (That upstairs apartment has been turned into a four-bedroom, two-bathroom rental on Airbnb. “When we have guest bartenders and stuff like that, we have space for them to stay for free if they’re from out of town,” says Kokonas.)
Additional work included moving and enlarging the bathrooms, reworking the front entrance, and getting rid of the kitchen along with its pass-through window. Once completed, the fun work of sourcing vintage furniture, light fixtures, and accessories began. “I’ve always said I hate shopping but put me in an antique store and I can be there all day finding weird, unique things,” says Kokonas.
Visits to a couple dozen thrift stores followed, most of them outside Chicago. That’s where Kokonas found the mismatched vintage glassware lining the back bar. Insulators that used to top electrical lines have been repurposed as votives that sit on top of the 15-seat bar as well as on the tables nearby. The restored vintage bar stools feature colors of red, mustard yellow, and orange.
In the cozy back area, old church pews serve as seats and an antique dresser cut in half and mounted on the wall provides a place for standing guests to put their drinks. Then there are the vintage light fixtures hanging overhead, no two alike. Not everything is antique though: The half-circle tan leather booth comes from the now-closed Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse in Oak Brook.
“Everything here has a story to it and that’s what bars and drinking culture is supposed to be about,” says Kokonas.
Furthering Belmont Tavern’s storytelling came via a message on Instagram from the grandson of its founder and whose great-grandparents bought the building 1937. He gave Kokonas old photos of his family and the bar. “Getting the history of it and putting that together allows us to respect what it was in a lot more ways,” he says.
Kokonas has added his own personal touches, too. His uncle’s floor speakers circa 1980s got spruced up and hung on the wall. “I have been using them and dragging them around since I was a teenager and now I have a proper place for them,” says Kokonas.
The Unexplained Nerves cocktail. Neil Burger
Then there’s Belmont Tavern’s rabbit logo. Kokonas found himself drawn to it right away when his designer presented it as an option. It reminded him of Chicago’s many rabbits and suggested the symbolism around rabbits of rebirth, which made sense in that he’s reviving an old place. Kokonas also remembered growing up he had a beloved stuffed rabbit. “Spike” now sits proudly above the bar. Leaning into that theme, there are numerous rabbits throughout the space, including as coat hooks and decorative elements.
Since he began work on Belmont Tavern, Kokonas has had many positive interactions with his neighbors, many of whom have poked their heads in inquiring about its opening date. “I feel like we’re going to be the ‘welcoming committee’ to Avondale for people that want to stop here before going to other places in the hood, like Alice’s Lounge for karaoke or Sleeping Village for shows,” says Kokonas.
While Kokonas admits he’s not “reinventing the wheel in any way, shape, or form,” he’s excited to become a new third place in Avondale. “We’re here to get people to take their mind off their day and their life,” he says. “If we do that correctly, then we are going to be successful and make people happy.”
Belmont Tavern, 3405 W. Belmont Avenue; open 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. every day.
Founded by longtime bartender Nick Kokonas, this historic bar was revived 25 years after its closure with affordable cocktails, wine, and boilermaker deals.