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Five Star Bar at 1424 W. Chicago Ave. in West Town Credit: Quinn Myers/Block Club Chicago

WEST TOWN — Five Star Bar in West Town has reopened for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Daniel Macielak, head chef Jon Steinfels and managing partners Erik Dorf and Asad Yousef bought the bar and restaurant at 1424 W. Chicago Ave. in May. The neighborhood fixture had been closed since March 2020.

The new owners led extensive “cosmetic work” in the bar’s interior and added amenities like projector screens for football games and pinball machines.

“We left the initial structure and layout of the bar. We just sanded the bar, we … did all new paint, all new flooring, reupholstered all the booths,” Macielak said. “Cosmetically, it’s upgraded.”

Five Star’s menu has also been revamped, featuring what Macielak calls “elevated bar food.” That includes new burgers, cheese curds, pasta and Detroit-style pizza inspired by Macielak’s other restaurant, Village Pizza and BBQ in Milford, Michigan.

“We took my pizza recipes here that I acquired when I purchased this business and brought them down, put them on Five Star’s menu,” said Macielak, who previously worked as an account specialist in Chicago for alcohol manufacturer Diageo.

Five Star is also serving new draft cocktails and a full beer list, and it is holding weekend DJ nights.

Five Star quietly reopened Nov. 17. In just a few hours, the bar was full of regulars and customers from the neighborhood, Macielak said.

“I love West Town. That was mostly the area I traveled in — West Town, Logan Square and Wicker Park — for work, and I know my partners came from that area, also. And just given the space right on Chicago Avenue just east of Ashland, it was just a great opportunity,” Macielak said.

Five Star Bar is open 5 p.m.-2 a.m. daily.

The upgraded bar at Five Star Bar in West Town Credit: Provided

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