BOYSTOWN — The storied space that once housed Boystown bar Cocktail may soon have a new occupant.
The building's owner, Robert Brumbaugh, applied for a tavern liquor license for the first floor of 3359 N. Halsted St. on Wednesday as Halsted Hospitality LLC, under the name "Progress Bar," according to the City of Chicago's website.
Brumbaugh seized Cocktail in January after a year of eviction battles and unpaid rent issues with owners John "Geno" Zaharakis and Dustin Hoffman, he told Windy City Media at the time, saying Cocktail's owners owed more than $85,000.
Zaharakis and Hoffman had previously filed a lawsuit against Brumbaugh for allegedly conspiring to ruin Cocktail.
Brumbaugh could not be reached Wednesday night. According to state records, he is based in suburban Inverness.
Jim Ludwig, owner of Roscoe's Tavern across the street, said Brumbaugh has said he was planning to refill the space and that David Sikora, Cocktail's former manager who was also named in Zaharakis' and Hoffman's lawsuit, will be involved with the new concept.
Sikora has been working at Roscoe's since Cocktail closed, Ludwig said.
"He gets my blessing so far," Ludwig said of Brumbaugh. "He has a lot of wisdom in marketing, so he’ll probably be an asset to the street."
