LINCOLN PARK — A new sports bar dedicated to teams in the collegiate Atlantic Coast Conference is getting a jump-start with the Cubs' World Series run.
Originally slated to open in November, Tobacco Road Taproom, 2249 N. Lincoln Ave., has instead thrown open its doors for every Cubs game, starting at 5 p.m., with a limited menu, but $4 domestic beers and moonshine shots.
It joins a competitive field trying to attract Cub fans, even as some bars at what could become ground zero in Wrigleyville have announced they'll actually be charging big bucks just to get in.
The 15-school ACC is known as a sports hotbed, primarily in college basketball, but also in football. Tobacco Road lays claim to being "the first Chicago sports pub to affiliate itself with an entire collegiate athletic conference."
Tobacco Road owner Kyle Silver is a Duke University alumnus, and recently visited all the schools in the conference to get the local details accurate, as drinks and the menu are plotted to favor regional specialties.
"Tobacco Road Taproom will serve as a focal point for ACC fans and anyone who wants to root for their team while enjoying our delicious, complex Atlantic-region cuisine, craft beer and draft cocktails," Silver said. "As a graduate of Duke University, I live and breathe my allegiance to this conference. I cannot wait to share my love of this region with Chicago ACC sports fans."
The promise of rabid Cub fans, however, was too good to pass up, and the bar opened Tuesday and will again Wednesday and this weekend when the Cubs and Cleveland Indians are playing at Wrigley Field.
At the same time, it put out that, with all the bar TVs in the city seemingly tuned to the Cubs, it will have a special upstairs viewing area for the Clemson-Florida State football game on Saturday, where a separate TV with the World Series will be on with the sound muted.
Chef Raul Castaneda previously spent eight years as executive chef at Tavern at the Park Chicago. Mixologist Dan Rook made his name at South Water Kitchen.
The day menu for the Cubs' World Series games includes Syracuse-style hot wings and a Clemson Bird Dog (chicken tenders in a bun), as well as a more local "Fly the W" burger.
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