RIVER NORTH — Mom's Place, a decidedly non-corporate, non-clubby bar with live music and karaoke, is moving into (of all places) River North.
The two-level bar will open Friday at 650 N. Dearborn St., co-owner Andrea Kardaras said.
Mom's place, named after Kardaras' mom, is the successor to the Windy City Inn that closed last year in North Center. Kardaras said they're going for the same corner bar vibe of the Windy City Inn, just in River North.
"That's really exciting for us too. The old mom-and-pop shops seem to be going away," Kardaras, who runs the bar with her husband, Ron Prokaski, said. "We’ve been in here every day for six months busting our humps getting it ready."
The bar is taking over a vacant storefront last occupied by The Joynt, another music club. Food and drinks will be served on the ground floor, while the basement (named The Smokey Hollow Juke Joint) has multiple rooms that can accommodate different shows at the same time. Mom's Place plans to have karaoke night on Tuesdays, Kardaras said.
Stampy, a local jam band, will play an "unofficial Wilco after party" at the bar Saturday night. Mom's Place has shows booked through April 1, according to its website.
The building at 650 N. Dearborn St. has a sordid past as The Raleigh Hotel, a "flophouse" where Chicago police found Richard Speck, the notorious mass murderer who killed eight student nurses 50 years ago near the South Chicago Community Hospital.
The basement bar takes its name, Smokey Hollow, from what locals called the area back when it was shrouded by smog emitted from nearby factories.
The menu has yet to be finalized, but will feature typical bar fare as well as beers from local breweries such as Half Acre and Revolution, Kardaras said. Mom's Place will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, and stay open till 3 a.m. on Saturday.
RELATED: Windy City Inn Closing, Owners Say They Were Blindsided By Building's Sale
The stairs leading down to the bar's "Smokey Hollow Juke Joint." (Facebook/Mom's Place)
The bar at Mom's Place. (Facebook/Mom's Place)
Staff readying for Friday's opening at Mom's Place. (Facebook/Mom's Place)
