LOGAN SQUARE — The craft cocktail bar replacing the former nail salon next to Deadbolt will have a 1960s supper club vibe and a walk-up window where folks can order milkshakes and root beer floats.
The Pink Squirrel, 2414 N. Milwaukee Ave., expected to open this summer, is the latest venture for the Furious Spoon team and mixologist Dustin Drankiewicz, the group that is rapidly taking over the corner of Milwaukee and Fullerton avenues.
Patrons can expect a few dozen 1960s and 1970s-inspired cocktails, including the Brooklyn Egg Cream and the Harvey Wallbanger, as well as a variety of boozy ice cream cocktails — all served in retro glassware. The walk-up window, which will serve non-boozy ice cream drinks, will be on Milwaukee.
The bar is inspired by supper clubs in Drankiewicz's hometown of Milwaukee, like Bryant's Cocktail Lounge. It's named after the first cocktail Drankiewicz ever had.
“I grew up around 50- to 100-year-old bowling allies and taverns like Holler House, Bob-E-Lanes, and Koz’s Mini Bowling. My old man was even a professional bowler for living," he said in a prepared statement.
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Last year, Furious Spoon replaced 30-year-old Mexican restaurant El Charro. Then the owners bought the neighboring dive bar Two Way Lounge and teamed up with Drankiewicz to open a new bar, Deadbolt, in its place. The same group is behind the Pink Squirrel.
“This has been a project we’ve been looking for a home now for about seven years and I have yet to see this type of concept anywhere in the country,” Drankiewicz sad in a prepared statement. “I hope Chicago embraces it with open arms.”
The 50-seat bar will open at 5 p.m. weekdays. More details will be released in the coming months.
