The Story of Big Chicks, the Inic Chigo Gay Bar | Bon Appét

Contents:

• CHIGO GAY BARS AND CLUBS
• GAY NIGHTLIFE BOYSTOWN, CHIGO: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE
• THE BEST CHIGO GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS CHIGO
• CHIGO GAY NIGHTLIFE GUI: DOWNTOWN & SOUTH SI
• THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
• “I THK WE HAVE A GAY BAR”
• CHIGO STYLELGBTQ+HOME»EXPLORE»CHIGO STYLE»LGBTQ+CHIGO HAS A WAY OF MAKG EVERYONE FEEL WELE. OUR LGBTQ+ MUNI, IENDLY RINTS, DIVERSE NIGHTLIFE, AND YEAR-LONG PRI CELEBRATNS MAKE ONE OF THE MOST CLIVE CI THE UNTRY. VAR PRELOAD = {}; GET TO KNOW LGBTQ+ CHIGOCOME EXPLORE OUR HISTORIC LANDMARKS, WELG NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THRIVG NIGHTLIFE SCENE.EXPLORE CHIGO'S WELG NEIGHBORHOODSCHECK OUT OUR GUI TO LGBTQ+ NEIGHBORHOODSEXPLORE OUR 2-DAY LGBTQ+ CHIGO ERARYDISVER LGBTQ+ HISTORY WH THE TOURS AND ATTRACTNSFEEL THE PRIPRI IS CHIGO'S DNA. AND WE CELEBRATE ALL YEAR LONG.CATCH THE CHIGO PRI PARA JUNEWHERE TO CELEBRATE PRI MONTH CHIGOEXPLORE YEAR-ROUND LGBTQ+ EVENTS CHIGOKEEP THE PARTY GOG AT THE LOL GAY BARS AND CLUBS.EXPLORE WELG NEIGHBORHOODSEXPERIENCE CHIGO'S VIBRANT LGBTQ+ MUNI, CLUDG THE FIRST OFFICIAL GAY NEIGHBORHOOD THE UNTRY.PARTY AT SITRACK BOYSTOWNWHAT DO AND SEE BUZZG BOYSTOWNEAT AND SHOP QUIRKY ANRSONVILLEKEEP EXPLORG
• CHIGO HAS 3 OF THE ‘BT GAY BARS AMERI,' ESQUIRE SAYS

CHIGO GAY BARS AND CLUBS

Our gay and lbian bars have a ltle b of somethg for everyone, wh late-night loung, dance clubs, burlque and drag shows, and long-standg neighborhood waterg hol almost every rner of the cy. And each wh their own unique history and out some of the bt gay bars and clubs to experience Chigo’s LGBTQ+ nightlife scene.

Jeffery PubOne of the cy’s olst gay bars, Jeffery Pub is a neighborhood stutn. The South Shore staple is also one of Chigo’s first black-owned gay bars, makg all the more meangful for the spot’s many regulars.

GAY NIGHTLIFE BOYSTOWN, CHIGO: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE

Come for trivia, the ee Sunday night buffet, and the themed dance parti — then e back the next morng for bnch at attached sister rtrant ClosetYou n’t talk about gay bars Chigo whout talkg about Northalsted (also known as Boystown). Come for happy hour, Sunday afternoon mimosas, or late StoryLookg for a gay bar near downtown Chigo? You’ll enunter everyone om slightly disheveled rints after a long shift at nearby Northwtern Memorial Hospal to buttoned-down profsnals search of a no-ills happy hour to wayward tourists too tired or tapped out to venture farther north or wt for a gay enclave.

Shelton had been DJg at a failg Lln Park dis lled Hoots, but she spent all her ee nights at O’Bann’s, a n-down gay….

While there are tons of bars the neighborhood terg to gay men, queer women (like myself), and other members of the LGBTQ+ muny, the are my 13 favore plac to go to the Northhalsted area (prevly known as Boystown). This bar is jt one of those plac where I nstantly n to old iends and say, “Oh wow you’re gay now too? The North End, which is probably the bt sports bar on North Halsted, is big and open, filled wh mostly gay men, and has lots of iendly staff who will happily pour you a rose cir while you watch the Cubs lose cred: Kim KovacikJt next door to The North End, Bobby Love’s has a quieter, zier feel that’s perfect for grabbg a beer and sgg your favore karaoke songs.

THE BEST CHIGO GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS CHIGO

Photo cred: Kim KovacikJt a block off the ma Halsted bar area, The Closet has a dive bar feel and is one of my favore plac to meet other people the muny, whout the prsur of tryg to look hot while dancg and yellg over other dnk gays wearg speedos. And while most bars the area are geared towards gay men, The Closet mak sure ’s open for all queer people—cludg a clumsy lbian like cred: Kim KovacikMuch like the Replay Lln Park and Anrsonville, this bar has fun vio gam, like Cis’n World, and a list of 26 beers they rotate out weekly. There’s a reason so many young queer people flock to Chigo and never leave: the cy’s gay scene is fun as hell.

Boystown, of urse, is the cy’s official gayborhood, wh LGBTQ-iendly bars, rtrant, and clubs occupyg nearly every storeont on Northalsted. But Chigo’s queer muny exists far outsi the Lakeview enclave—and so do the great gay bars.

CHIGO GAY NIGHTLIFE GUI: DOWNTOWN & SOUTH SI

Whether they clu drag, dancg, or are div—or a ltle b of all three—Chigo’s bt gay bars have a ltle somethg for everyone. Gay Edgewater rints of all ag ll themselv regulars at this iendly, sual dive bar.

This Uptown spot featur a relatively mixed-genr clientele ( the scheme of gay bars). Wh no distguishg signage outsi, this unmarked dive is much more discreet than s very gay clientele is.

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Sitrack is generally herald as the kg of Chigo gay bars, and not for no reason: the sprawlg plex featur five different bars year-round.

“I THK WE HAVE A GAY BAR”

Add another two the summertime, when the upstairs pat—one of Chigo’s bt, gay or straight—is open for bs.

CHIGO STYLELGBTQ+HOME»EXPLORE»CHIGO STYLE»LGBTQ+CHIGO HAS A WAY OF MAKG EVERYONE FEEL WELE. OUR LGBTQ+ MUNI, IENDLY RINTS, DIVERSE NIGHTLIFE, AND YEAR-LONG PRI CELEBRATNS MAKE ONE OF THE MOST CLIVE CI THE UNTRY. VAR PRELOAD = {}; GET TO KNOW LGBTQ+ CHIGOCOME EXPLORE OUR HISTORIC LANDMARKS, WELG NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THRIVG NIGHTLIFE SCENE.EXPLORE CHIGO'S WELG NEIGHBORHOODSCHECK OUT OUR GUI TO LGBTQ+ NEIGHBORHOODSEXPLORE OUR 2-DAY LGBTQ+ CHIGO ERARYDISVER LGBTQ+ HISTORY WH THE TOURS AND ATTRACTNSFEEL THE PRIPRI IS CHIGO'S DNA. AND WE CELEBRATE ALL YEAR LONG.CATCH THE CHIGO PRI PARA JUNEWHERE TO CELEBRATE PRI MONTH CHIGOEXPLORE YEAR-ROUND LGBTQ+ EVENTS CHIGOKEEP THE PARTY GOG AT THE LOL GAY BARS AND CLUBS.EXPLORE WELG NEIGHBORHOODSEXPERIENCE CHIGO'S VIBRANT LGBTQ+ MUNI, CLUDG THE FIRST OFFICIAL GAY NEIGHBORHOOD THE UNTRY.PARTY AT SITRACK BOYSTOWNWHAT DO AND SEE BUZZG BOYSTOWNEAT AND SHOP QUIRKY ANRSONVILLEKEEP EXPLORG

Not only is the Jefey Pub one of the olst gay bars the untry, ’s also the only black-owned LGBTQ bar Chigo.

Gay Nightlife Boystown, Chigo: Bt Bars, Clubs, & More. Wh a rich history of LGBT activism and a flourishg muny, Chigo offers one of the bt gay nightlife scen the untry, particularly Boystown. Although s formal name is Lakeview, Boystown is the more monly ed named for this famo gay neighborhood.

It's here where you'll fd the hight ncentratn of gay-iendly bars and clubs, where everyone is wele to be themselv and take pri who they are and who they love. In Boystown, gay bars abound on and between the ma thoroughfar of Halsted and Broadway. Sitrack: This immensely popular gay vio bar is a by multi-level bar that appeals to gay men and lbians of all ag, although do tend to lean towards the preppier si.

CHIGO HAS 3 OF THE ‘BT GAY BARS AMERI,' ESQUIRE SAYS

Rose's Tavern: One of the great legends of gay Chigo nightlife, this food-servg bar has remaed fun, relevant, and by sce opened 1987.

Berl: A iendly dance club on the by Belmont Avenue, Berl has been a gay nightlife mastay Chigo for many years, s succs due largely to s e-one-e-all vibe. Srlet: This smopolan, upsle gay lounge and dance club is known for s dandy drk specials and sleek r.

K Kat Lounge and Supper Club: One of Lakeview's swankier mixed gay-straight loung and eateri, K Kat is a retro-hip hangout. All the gay bars, rtrants, and clubs will have somethg special planned durg this month and the fect rabow-spir spreads across Chigo. The bt place to enjoy the para is Boystown, where the energy level will be at s gayt, proust, and most fun.

Much of the gay scene this neighborhood is foced along Halsted, Belmont, and Addison Streets. June’s Chigo Pri Ftival, one of the largt annual gay pri ftivals the untry, and Chigo Pri Para, which attracts an timated one ln spectators, are among the summer’s stars.

4 plac sorted by traveler favorGay Bars • Dance Clubs & DissWhat travelers are saygWent to hydrate to support a iend. Gay bar me directly to md and this place was remend by someone at my hotel. Although Chigo has among the greatt selectn of gay nightspots the untry, the majory of the hangouts - om bars and diss to LGBT-popular rtrants - are popular mixed rintial-mercial neighborhoods on the north si of the cy.

You n fd extensive lists of tablishments the Chigo Lakeview Gay Nightlife Gui and the Chigo Anrsonville Gay Nightlife Gui. Fortunately, there are a uple of very fun gay nightspots right the heart of downtown, not to mentn an almost endls supply of terrific rtrants, many of them wh mixed gay/straight followgs.

Addnally, on the cy's South Si, you'll fd a pair of gay bars that ter predomantly to Ain-Amerin patrons, Club Espe and Jeffery Pub. It's also a b of a distance to reach the bars, but they're both legendary nightspots that are well-worth checkg out, pecially given that many of the natn's gay Ain-Amerin hangouts have steadily disappeared over the years. Here's a more -pth look at the Downtown and South Si Chigo gay social tablishments.

Also take a look at the Chigo Gay Bathhoe and Sex Club Gui, which has plenty of advice on where to meet guys lookg to hookup around Chigo.