LOGAN SQUARE — There will be no live lion outside the Black Lion during this weekend's grand opening.
The owners of the bar, 2434 N. Milwaukee Ave., had hopes of bringing a live lion in a cage for Saturday's grand opening.
After seeing outrage on social media, those plans have been nixed.
Instead, one of the bar managers plans to bring his dog in with a lion hoodie.
"We were going to use the lion to highlight the work we do with the World Wildlife Fund but after hearing all that nonsense we thought let's just do it this way," said Ryan Johnson, general manager at the bar.
Johnson said the owners of the bar adopted a lion through the conservation organization and hoped to showcase the magnificence of the lion at the grand opening to educate the community about conservation efforts.
Much of the outrage came just weeks after Cecil the Lion was killed by a Minnesota dentist in Zimbabwe sparking outrage across the country.
Johnson called the anger about the idea of bringing a live lion to the Logan Square bar misguided.
"These people who got all angry for poor Cecil in Africa don’t know how to express themselves other than finding the closest lion event," he said.
Black Lion has been open for a few weeks, but has plans for a grand opening part Saturday.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
