RIVER NORTH — To celebrate the Aug. 28 opening of a second video game-focused bar and restaurant at 213 W. Institute Place, Headquarters Beercade is driving an ice cream truck around River North and the Loop Thursday, delivering free treats to fans who Tweet or Instagram their locations with the hashtag #IScreamForHQ.
Free treats available include three different popsicles — rocket pops, creamsicles and fudgesicles — and arcade-inspired ice cream bars including a Spiderman-themed dessert. Along with the ice cream, they'll hand out invitations to a grand opening celebration at the new River North location.
Scheduled stops for the truck include the Board of Trade Building, Prudential Plaza and at several stops in River North, including at 350 N. Clark Street, State Street and Grand Avenue, Merchandise Mart and Groupon's headquarters.
Stops will also be added based on social media requests shared with the #IScreamForHQ hashtag.
The Lakeview-based flagship opened at 950 W. Wolfram St. in fall 2012, and later expanded to 2833 N. Sheffield Ave. It boasts a lengthy craft beer selection, paired with cult favorite games including Pac-Man, X-Men, Mortal Kombat, Frogger, Indiana Jones pinball, Avengers pinball and Metallica pinball.
Owner Mark Kwiatkowski said he fell in love with a similar concept in Brooklyn and knew it would be a success in Chicago's bar scene.
"It speaks to people that don't want to grow up," Kwiatkowski told DNAinfo Chicago at the time.
Executive Chef Chris Coker cooked up an all new menu for the River North restaurant, which has a full kitchen. A spokeswoman described them as "a spin on the family-centric meals America grew up on in the '70s and '80s."
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