LOGAN SQUARE — Pizza Lobo in Logan Square goes from serving up pizza and beer to rip-roaring drag queen performances once per month.
The pizza joint at 3000 W. Fullerton Ave. is the home of Sauced & Saucy, a monthly drag show from drag queens and friends Rah Rah Girl and Nico. The two launched the event series in October, and it has become a hit among neighbors.
Most shows are held 2-6 p.m. on the second Saturday of the month, and they feature a DJ set and a string of performances by Rah Rah Girl, Nico and special guests. There’s no cover charge. Anyone can reserve a table online.
No two shows are alike, the performers said.
“You have Rah Rah here hanging from the ceiling,” Nico said. “You have a trans icon like Mimi Marks being naked and being stunning. And you have me shotgunning a beer on a picnic table. There’s no telling what you’re gonna get.
“The only thing you can say is you’re going to have fun, you’re going to be laughing and screaming and you’re going to want to come back.”
Sauced & Saucy was born out of the performers’ appreciation for Pizza Lobo.
Rah Rah Girl and Nico are longtime performers who became regular customers of Pizza Lobo. Last summer, Rah Rah Girl took a job as a server, and she and Nico convinced the manager to let them host a drag queen show.
They planned the shows for 2 p.m. so as not to compete with drag queen brunches on the North Side, they said.
“We wanted people to support those earlier shows and still be able to support a later happy hour drag show,” Nico said.
Over the past several months, the two have built a steady customer base through word-of-mouth and social media. While the shows aren’t exactly G-rated, they attract a range of neighbors — even families with kids and grandmas, the performers said.
“There was a kid last time that was so excited they could do the splits. It was amazing. The children are loving giving us dollars. We’re essentially just cartoon characters running around,” Nico said.
Neighborhoods like Northalsted and Andersonville have long been Chicago’s go-to spots for drag queen shows. But with Sauced & Saucy, Rah Rah Girl and Nico aim to put Logan Square on the map for such performances.
“Hopefully with Pizza Lobo doing it, it will create more spaces for people to party and have fun and not so much rely on the North Side,” Nico said.
The next Sauced & Saucy show is set for May 21. To reserve a table, go here.
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