LAKEVIEW — Another place to drink Chicago craft beer may be opening on North Broadway.
Strange Pelican Brewing Company plans to open a bar on the street in the next year, said Phil Tadros, co-founder of the beer and also the entrepreneur behind Kickstand Coffee, Dollop and Bow Truss.
"We want it to be high level," Tadros said. "It's more for tastings and showings."
Tadros and brewer Eric McNeil have started architectural plans and have a space in mind, most likely near coffee roaster Bow Truss, 2934 N. Broadway Ave. and Tadros' digital company Doejo, 3128 N. Broadway Ave. But nothing official has happened yet.
Strange Pelican has been debuting beers at festivals and events. They already have an approximately 8,000-square-foot brewing facility at Damen and Fulton on the Near West Side under construction. It is set to open in the next three to four months, they said.
While the brewing facility will feature a tap room akin to Half Acre Brewing Company, 4257 N. Lincoln Ave., it will mostly be for production, McNeil said. The bar on North Broadway will be the place for people to sit down and drink, he said.
The beers aim to use seasonal products to experiment with flavors that complement foods, McNeil said. He's currently working on a German-style beer with hints of smoked red chilies. A rye beer called Maiden Voyage has a "peppery aspect to it," he said. Once blood oranges come back into season, that will be used for a beer, too.
"What we're going to really enjoy about the tap room is pushing out different types of beer," he said.
Whether or not their planned bar and tasting room will have food is to be determined, McNeil said.
A Strange Pelican bar on North Broadway would be joining DryHop Brewery, a craft brewery and pub at 3155 N. Broadway Ave. that plans to open in March.
Is that too much craft beer for one street? Of course not, McNeil said.
"[DryHop brewer Brant Dubovick] has a different style form what I do," he said. "That's why I think we got into brewing. The possibilities are endless."
