- Credibility:
LOGAN SQUARE — Crown Liquors Taproom, the half bar/half liquor store “slashie” with a decades-long history on the Logan Square/Avondale border, is closing permanently.
The neighborhood spot at 2821 N. Milwaukee Ave. won’t reopen after the stay at home order is lifted, owner Georg Simos confirmed.
It’s unclear if the coronavirus pandemic killed the establishment. Simos wasn’t available for an interview and didn’t immediately respond to further requests for comment.
Matthew DiMare, who worked as a bartender at Crown Liquors for four years, said he doesn’t know why the bar/liquor store is closing for good, but he knows the closure is a huge loss for the neighborhood.
“A lot of people will really miss that place,” he said in a message to Block Club.
DiMare said he worked with a “truly great staff” and the customers were “wonderful.”
“Everyone felt welcome there, felt at home. The culture that Kelly was able to create over the years was special,” he said, referring to the general manager.
DiMare said he suspects it’s the “first of many independently-owned bars to close because of all of this.”
The bar’s history stretches back to the end of Prohibition, the previous owner told DNAinfo in 2015.
The original Crown Liquors was an “old fashioned Chicago-style taproom,” the previous owner said in 2014, shortly after she sold the 3,000-square-foot bar to Simos and his business partner Alex Tsolakides.
The classic bar underwent an interior and exterior transformation after it was sold to Simos and Tsolakides, also the owners and operators of Rocking Horse, Dante’s Pizzeria and High Dive.
The new owners also launched “Hot Dice,” a game in which drinkers roll dice to determine which shot they get. The neighborhood spot hosted all manner of shows and events.
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