LINCOLN PARK — Overflow crowds at the popular Pequod's Pizza, 2207 N. Clybourn Ave., have found a lifeboat while they wait next door at the Whale Tale.
Pequod's laid claim to the space previously occupied by Filippo's, 2211 N. Clybourn Ave., in August. The Filippo's awning still hangs above the storefront windows, which have been painted with the name of the new venture.
The Whale Tale bills itself as a bar with TVs and seating for Pequod's customers either waiting for a table or waiting for a pickup order to be ready. It's open on the weekends: 5-10 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday.
"We will never make our wait as good as our pizza, but we are trying," says the website.
The Whale Tale has its own menu of burgers and appetizers and boasts craft beers as well.
Pequod's began in Morton Grove in 1970 with a distinctive pan-style pizza with a "caramelized crust." Next year will mark its 25th year in Lincoln Park, continuous but for a five-month hiatus following a fire in 2006.
The name, of course, makes reference to the Pequod, the whaler captained by Ahab in Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick." Thus, the Whale Tale.
It held a contest to design a new logo in September, won by this:
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