ANDERSONVILLE — The establishment formerly known as T's Bar will be reborn next year as an upscale Mexican restaurant and bar, according to the team that purchased the space this fall.
T's was a 12-year nightlife staple popular among Chicago lesbians, but it closed abruptly in March after former owner Colm Treacy skipped several months' worth of rent and got the boot.
Mark Robertson is part of the ownership team that also owns gay sports bar Crew Bar and Grill, 4804 N. Broadway, and the SoFo Tap, 4923 N. Clark St.
He said that the former T's, 5025 N. Clark St., "will be a Mexican restaurant, but beyond that we aren't ready to disclose any more information yet."
Robertson, however, did offer a few tid bits to DNAinfo.com Chicago during a phone interview Monday.
"It's a restaurant concept that we think will do well in that part of Andersonville/Uptown," he elaborated, adding that the area lacks quality Mexican food options.
The restaurant won't be open until "next summer or early fall," Robertson said.
Robertson said that his team purchased the entire building, not just T's, from former landlord Julie Mai, and that the property is in dismal condition. That explains the timeline for putting a new restaurant there, he said.
"The building is in very bad physical condition, so there's a lot of work that needs to be done to bring the building up to our standards," Robertson said.
The brokerage company that closed the sale, Kudan Group, said that Robertson's team plans to completely redesign the 5,000-square-foot space and install "an upscale bar/restaurant."
Robertson didn't detail exactly what's wrong with the building. But he said that there are already preliminary designs for renovating it that would be shared with the community soon.
Another establishment owned by T's' former owner Treacy, MorseL, closed last month after less than a year in Rogers Park. Treacy also owns the Sidecar and Glenwood Bars in Rogers Park.
