LINCOLN SQUARE — The former Red Lion in Lincoln Square reopened this week under new ownership as The Green Post, offering coffee, savory pies and pints of cider.
The newly renovated pub at 4749 N. Rockwell St. opened Wednesday and is the latest business from the team behind The Northman, Bar on Buena and the now-closed Fountainhead.
The Green Post’s initial hours are 7 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays. For now, the pub is only serving breakfast and lunch from executive chef Chris Seeler.
The pub’s dinner menu will be rolled out as soon as winter, executive beverage director Ambrosia Borowski said.
Scroll to the end of the story to Green Post’s breakfast and lunch menu.
The menu’s highlights include a corned beef hash pie made with chopped corned beef, sautéed potatoes and onions, a soft scramble and fresh herb gravy for breakfast.
Lunch offerings include the rasher cheeseburger made with a blended brisket, chuck and ribeye patty with American cheese, back bacon, a courgette pickle, Colman’s aioli and Kashmiri ketchup on a seeded brioche bun.
Drinks include coffee from Hex Coffee Co., teas from Rare Tea Cellar alongside a limited alcohol menu featuring ciders, beer and cocktails, Borowski said.
Full bar service won’t be available until the dinner menu is rolled out, but customers can enjoy a pint or two while watching events such as the World Cup starting next month, Borowski said.
“I often travel, and there aren’t very many places that you can go where I can just get an amari and soda at noon. Or if I’m watching the Tour de France at 7 a.m., I want a pint of cider,” Borowski said.
The pub’s outdoor sidewalk patio and alley dining area will open in spring. The owners plan to also host neighborhood gatherings, craft beverage tastings and rent out sections for private events.
The Red Lion Lincoln Square — not to be confused with the English pub of the same name in Lincoln Park — closed in early 2021 due to the pandemic.
Red Lion owners Joe and Susan Heinen started volunteering at DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, serving drinks during the organization’s Neighborhood Nights.
“The Red Lion was always kind of like ‘Cheers.’ Most of the regulars are people who live in the neighborhood and just walked to the place,” Joe Heinen said at the time.
The pub’s new owners hope to continue that tradition of community. Members of The Green Post’s team visited pubs in England to better transpose its culture of communal public houses to Lincoln Square, Borowski said.
The Green Post’s layout is designed around the a selection of solitary or communal areas neighbors can take advantage of when they drop by, Borowski said.
There are spots within the pub to quickly get a coffee on the way to the train, sit down and get work done, meet friends for a pint to watch a soccer match or bring their children to eat lunch, Borowski said.
“That’s something that I’ve been struggling with. Where do I go to work that’s not a bar or a coffee shop but more of this third space? And I’m very excited about that and to have an excellent coffee program to boot,” Borowski said.
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