EDGEWATER — A local couple is planning to open a bar and hangout spot in a closed Clark Street pool hall.
Whiskey Girl Tavern is working to open this spring at 6318 N. Clark St. in the former Pressure Billiards space, the owners said. Pressure Billiards, which had a bar space and adjacent pool hall in the Clark Street spot for 16 years, closed in early February.
The tavern comes from married couple Christina and Heather Roberts, who plan to convert the old pool hall into a sports bar and lounge that will host live entertainment and retain some of the pool tables.
Christina Roberts co-founded Andersonville’s Back Lot Bash, a Pride-affiliated party that caters to lesbian women. The duo have worked for years to open their “dream bar,” Christina Roberts said at a community meeting hosted last week by Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th).
“We want to [create] a neighborhood bar that is very welcoming, is comfortable and has a lot to offer the community,” Heather Roberts said at the meeting.
The building must be rezoned to allow the bar to open. Residents of the 40th Ward can fill out a survey on the proposed zoning change though Wednesday by clicking here.
The Roberts want to renovate Pressure’s former bar room, where they will add high-top tables and six TVs to create an “upscale sports bar,” Christina Roberts said. There will be also be a kitchen with food service, cocktails and a non-alcoholic drink menu.
The couple will add a lounge toward the front of the former pool hall space, bringing couches and chairs around low tables for group seating, they said.
There will be a space for live entertainment, with plans to host comedy and musical acts, they said.
Four pool tables will be installed in the bar’s side room, plus arcade and pinball machines, the Roberts said at the community meeting. The room held 16 pool tables when it was a billiards hall.
Whiskey Girl Tavern is named after the couple’s do Whiskey, a Bernadoodle whose image appears in signage for the business.
In opening the bar, Christina and Heather Roberts said they hope to add a different kind of attraction to the neighborhood.
“The plan is for this space to be very versatile,” Heather Roberts said. “Our goal is to add to the neighborhood and create more options.”
For more about Whiskey Girl Tavern, check out its Facebook page by clicking here.
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