LOGAN SQUARE — The long-awaited return of Bonny's — Logan Square’s most reliable late-night get-down bar — will open in the form of Slippery Slope Wednesday, owner Danny Shapiro said.
Workers at Slippery Slope, 2357 N. Milwaukee Ave., finalized plans for a liquor license this week and will open at 8 p.m., said Shapiro, who owns Scofflaw, another Logan Square favorite, alongside other Slippery Slope staff.
“It’s been quite a labor of love,” Shapiro said of the yearlong process of getting Slippery Slope ready, which included a full renovation of the bar. “The vibe of the place is kind of like an old Vegas spot — a juxtaposition of the faded glory and glitz of Vegas meets the Midwest.”
And like Bonny’s, the 4 a.m. hotspot open when most other bars were closing up, Slippery Slope will be foremost a dance bar — “dark with lots of red lights … like an upgraded version of Bonny’s with the same heart and soul,” Shapiro added in a nod to the interior esthetic of his first Logan Square establishment. “Our aim is to create dance party every night.”
In addition to nightly DJs, Slippery Slope will feature a paired-down cocktail menu with rotating bottled spirits, the South Side’s Tom Tom Tamales for a late-night snack called the "mother-in-law" and beers on tap including a collaboration brew with Dark Horse dubbed Barracuda Blue, named after a discarded title for the bar before Slippery Slope was chosen.
And there will be skee ball machines.
While Slippery Slope will open on one floor Wednesday, Shapiro said a second floor will eventually be open to late-night bar goers, possibly by late summer.
“The total capacity is 300, versus Scofflaw which is 92, for comparison. So this is a monster,” he said. “The second [floor] will a have more laid-back feel — for people seeking refuge from downstairs."
But for now, “the first floor is in full effect,” Shapiro said.
After Slippery Slope’s grand opening at 8 p.m. Wednesday, the bar will open every day at 6 p.m. thereafter. It will be open until 2 a.m. weekdays and 3 a.m. weekends.
The bar will likely be closed Monday to give time for staff time to recover from its first weekend, but Shapiro said the plan is to remain open 7 days a week once a rhythm is established.
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