BUCKTOWN — Bucktown dive Lottie's Pub, which opened on the heels of Prohibition 82 years ago, will celebrate its anniversary May 21.
To celebrate, the bar owners are throwing a day-long celebration with food and drink specials priced at 82 cents.
The storied pub at 1925 W. Cortland Ave. has been around long enough to reportedly count mobsters, politicians and the cast of "Chicago Fire" among its clientele.
To commemorate the years spent in business and to celebrate its legendary owner, patrons can enjoy 82-cent burgers from noon-4 p.m. May 21 and all-day specials including 82-cent beer drafts and $8.20 pizzas.
Drinks like Absolut and Jameson Black & Stormy cocktails will be $5, according to a news release.
Alisa Hauser shares some of the history of Lottie's.
The party lasts until Lottie's 3 a.m. closing time on Saturday and then 2 a.m. closing time on Sunday.
The joint was first opened as Zagorski's in 1934 by Lottie Zagorski, who transformed the building, formerly a neighborhood grocery store, into Zagorski's very own tavern.
But, as legend goes, the basement was where the real parties started.
"For over 30 years, Lottie's basement served as a place of anonymity for mobsters, political figures, and anyone else seeking it," according to a statement from the pub's 80th milestone in 2014. "Lively parties, horse betting, strip teasing and all-night poker extravaganzas thrived."
Zagorski had been busted by the authorities at least twice for running a gambling operation out of the basement, said Mark Domitrovich, who now co-owns Lottie's as part of Pioneer Tavern Group.
But for all the sordid history, Zagorski was a respected neighborhood figure and well known by those on both side of the law, Domitrovich said.
"She was kind of the glue who kept it together," he said.
Zagorski died in 1973, and the pub got its new name in the 1980s.
Since then, it's become a somewhat quieter go-to for neighborhood meetups or for grabbing a drink while watching a game.
NBC's "Chicago Fire" also used Lottie's as the set for the Molly's, the show's main bar, and it's a star turn the pub shows off with pride.
"Molly's By Day, Lotties by Night," a sign outside the door reads.
Even if Lottie's is no longer the same place it once was when Zagorski was around, Domitrovich said plenty of the pub's regulars still remember the famed tavern owner.
One who still stops by for a drink said he remembered Zagorski giving the neighborhood kids money and candy, Domitrovich said.
"It’s pretty amazing it’s still here," Domitrovich said. "And it’s kind of always been involved in the neighborhood."
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