GOLD COAST — Coconutz, a tropical-themed bar that promises good food and drinks inspired by beaches around the world, will be cracking open beers and serving drinks in coconuts soon on Division Street.
The bar — a product of the same company that owns familiar Gold Coast haunts including the Hangge-Uppe, Lodge Tavern and Mother's — hopes to open Dec. 1 at 13 W. Division St., general manager Josh King said.
Despite its playful name, Coconutz aims for an upscale vibe on a street not exactly known for sophisticated nightlife. King said the menu had yet to be finalized, but would include an extensive wine list and evoke a "global island" with small plate recipes derived from Thailand to Trinidad.
"We're not a tiki bar. We're not a Caribbean bar," King said, while adding "with the name of Coconutz we can't take ourselves too seriously. It's just a way of letting people know it's not a pretentious place to be."
Some Coconutz dishes, clockwise from top: hot-and-sweet shrimp, curried chicken, and "Norma Jean's Sunday Egg." [Provided]
Case in point, the bar already has one signature item: coconuts filled with punch. House sangria and craft beer drafts will also be served.
King is a former Bacardi ambassador who has mixed drinks in the U.S. Virgin Islands but also has experience at The Purple Pig and Sable in River North. He's joined by beverage director and sommelier Brendan Smith, another Purple Pig veteran who's also mixed drinks at Spiaggia, 980 N. Michigan Ave. The chef is Sean Welker, formerly of Saigon Sisters, bellyQ, and Farmhouse.
The restaurant is owned by Chicago-based Lodge Management Group, which is replacing its shuttered Bootleggers bar with Coconutz. The new two-level bar will include coconut-paneled walls, electrical fireplaces and floors "designed to have a sand feel," King said. Guests can drink at the bar in the front, head to a dining room farther back, or chill in a lounge with "cabana couches" and a DJ.
"We want it to be relaxed because it's still Division Street," King said.
The Coconutz storefront. [Facebook]
Once open, the bar's hours will be from 3-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, and from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It will have seating for about 75, and total capacity for about 100, King said.
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