From the owners who brought Crew to Uptown: "We Have our License!
After a long, long labor, we have finally "delivered" our newest baby, Wild Pug. She is 3100 sq. feet long and her weight is impossible to determine. Just like a newborn, the Pug has a lot of growing to do. Wild Pug will begin with a
soft opening tonight, Saturday, at 5pm. DJ Steve Henderson will be providing the music, and our staff will be ready to serve you. Sunday we will open at 3pm, so you can stop by after the Bears vs. Packers game at Crew."
3100 square feet.
ReplyDeleteHow many folks can our Catholic Worker betters pack in there. Turn it into a homeless shelter.....we don't need no stinkin' viable businesses in Uptown.
It's Uptown......Not Yuptown.....or in this case Guptown.
Sorry, I haven't taken my "medication" yet today. I'll pour a glass now.
Good luck Wild Pug. May you bring people, money, jobs, delight and more to Uptown.
Looks great guys!!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone gone in? It'd be nice to hear some reports. I may go today, but I'd feel like I'm cheating on Big Chicks on a Sunday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteWho am I kidding, I'll hit both! :) I'll report back what I find out.
Yeah Wild Pug!!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were out with some friends last night, and on the way home, we decided to stop by Wild Pug to have one last drink and check it out -- it was great! Lots of different beers on tap, a great atmosphere, good music, and friendly staff. A very welcome addition to the neighborhood! Looking forward to many more trips back!
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome a great addition to Uptown.
ReplyDeleteThanks Crew!
I was shocked to see how many people showed up for a non publicized opening last night...
ReplyDelete. I got a text that the place was open and decided to check it out.
Was packed with a mix of all types of people.. Lots of beers on tap, plenty of seating, the music was fun.. This place has it going on, I'll be there for Thursday's opening!
cannot wait to check it out!
ReplyDeletepirate, pour yourself a glass pronto!
Sweet! This bar is exactly what I've been hoping for. Pug Life 4 ever!
ReplyDeleteOk, I am going to ask this question, and I mean it in the nicest way possible, but is Wilde Pug going to be a gay bar, or just a bar in uptown that is frequented by gay people?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds really nice and I'd like to go, but I want to know what kind of experience I'm in for.
wincdycityeagle, I feel like they'll probably attracted a mixed crowd along the lines of Fat Cat. Just a guess!!
ReplyDeleteIt's gay but straights/bi/trans are always welcome as with all GAY bars.
ReplyDeleteI might add so called str8 bars never turn aways gays either.
ReplyDeleteAnd most bars in Chicago are mixed.
I was at the Wild Pug this weekend. Wow! What a great place! The staff was extremely friendly and it had a great crowd. There are some dart boards and a fireplace (which they had going). It was definitely a mixed crowd, just like you would get at Fat Cat. A definite word for it would be "classy". Will definitely be going there a lot!
ReplyDeleteLook, everyone is welcomed everywhere. Thats cool, and I love that about Chicago. But every bar has a vibe, you can quietly drink wine at Barleycorn north on a Saturday night, but you're not going to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, I can go and have a beer at Roscoes if I want, but I'm not going to feel comfortable. That's probably my issue, but hey, its how I feel. If a bar is more 50-50 ish, then I feel totally cool.
WCE, I asked the owners about this last week and they were very clear that everyone is welcome, but that they are proud to have it gay-owned and operated. And there's this article from TimeOut: "Steven Milford and Brian Wells have a history of rethinking the gay bar: In 2004, despite what Milford recalls as plenty of “nay-saying,” the pair opened Crew, one of only a handful of gay sports bars in the country. Now, as they get ready to open Wild Pug, they’re recasting the gay bar again, this time as an English pub."
ReplyDeleteI've always felt very welcome in Crew, FWIW.
I feel comfortable everywhere and have get hit just as much or more in so called str8 bars.
ReplyDeleteWere queer, were here and were everywhere.
R, no one's making any value judgments. People are, quite justifiably, asking what the new place in town is like because they haven't been there yet.
ReplyDeleteAnd, being female, I don't get hit on in gay bars. Usually. ;-)
They have dart boards? I am so there. It is hard to find a good bar with a proper Dart Board Set up. Silvies on Irving Park has a great Dart Board area, too bad the owners screw every band that plays there.
ReplyDeleteAs a straight man I have to say that sometimes I do feel awkward in a gay bar if I'm by myself. Once when I was at Hamburger Mary's I got hit on by this old dude. It didn't bother me at all and I felt bad that I had to tell him my Girlfriend would probably be confused, he thought my answer was funny. Another time I was at Hamburger Mary's this group of three guys were totally checking me out and making comments about me. They even went as far as to stare at me every time they went to the bathroom. That time I was really uncomfortable, not because they were gay but because I truly felt like a piece of meat, pun intended.
What I do find appalling is that 3 states voted against gay marriage in the last election. WTF, I just don't understand why people are so selfish. If someone want's to be with a member of the same sex till death do they part, why the hell not? How on earth would it ever effect my life? Oh wait, the religious right says so, I'm not even going to go there. Sorry, didn't mean to get on a soap box, just makes me furious.
So it looks like I need to get some new parts for my darts and get me some cork action.
My Butternut, aren't you one big ole piece of work!
ReplyDeleteTo wit:
"As a straight man I have to say that sometimes I do feel awkward in a gay bar if I'm by myself."
" . . I got hit on by this old dude. It didn't bother me at all ..."
"Another time I was at Hamburger Mary's this group of three guys were totally checking me out and making comments about me. They even went as far as to stare at me every time they went to the bathroom. That time I was really uncomfortable."
"I truly felt like a piece of meat, pun intended."
"I need to get some new parts for my darts and get me some cork action."
(On that last one, Butternut, you're on-spot. You just haven't accepted that fact about yourself---at least not yet.)
there are a lot of so called str8 guys that go to the bookstores downtown during lunch and play with other guys as well
ReplyDeleteAnd it's not like you go up to any person in public grope all over them.
BILLYJOEL:
ReplyDeleteYour last post made me laugh out loud!
When I first went to Crew, I didn't even notice it was a gay bar until I went to the bathroom. Also, some of the maganizes and advertisments are a little over the top. BUT THE FOOD IS AWESOME!
Thanks Falco-esq.
ReplyDeleteI like to think that I can be humorous at times---despite my kneejerky, cynical, contrarian, and combative personality.
"When I first went to Crew, I didn't even notice it was a gay bar until I went to the bathroom."
ReplyDeleteWhat, were there all women in there even though the door said "Gentlemen?"
It was the "Men" sign on the door....
ReplyDeletei'd say that straight couples and folks are apt to feel much more comfortable at gay bars than say, if my boyfriend and i went to watch a game at the cubby bear and would occassionally hold hands or whatever.
ReplyDeletebutternut:
even gay guys get hit on by creepy old men. that's why they're creepy.
btw, how many times did you go to the bathroom at mary's? you may want to see a doctor about that!
lol, wow.
ReplyDeleteI love how people see what they want to see and interpret things how thy wish.
"Butternut, you're on-spot. You just haven't accepted that fact about yourself---at least not yet." ~Billyjoe
LOL AWESOME! Not only did Billyjoe take my words out of context but he thinks I should come out of the closet. lol, I just shed a tear from laughing so hard. Man, you are truly special.
TO ALL OTHERS: If I offended I am sorry. I guess people sometimes refuse to read between the lines and make up their own words.
"As a straight man I have to say that sometimes I do feel awkward in a gay bar if I'm by myself."
I go to Crew from time to time for lunch. It is like 2 blocks away and the burgers are fricken amazing. Now I am usually by myself because I work at home. I know that since it is a gay bar there is a slight possibility I may get hit on. Now I also know that gay men are better at telling if a man is gay than a straight man is which is why I say "a slight posability", of course nothing is certain.
Now I also eat at Hamburger Mary's a lot. Start to see a pattern? I love hamburgers. Again I eat there alone often and I am usually reading a videogame magazine. So if you eat anywhere in Uptown/Andersonville and see a guy reading a videogame magazine, it's probably me.
" . . I got hit on by this old dude. It didn't bother me at all ..." My point of this was that I could as easily gone off on the guy and gotten all freaked out but I am more polite than that. I enjoyed the random conversation about technology we were having at the bar and had a feeling he was gay but if I stopped talking to him just because of that than I am a judgemental piece of garbage and I do not deserve to live. He asked me if I had a boyfriend and I replied in the best way I could without offending him by telling him my girlfriend would probably be confused. He laughed and that was that. Oh and I never said the dude was creepy. Not sure why that got thrown in.
As for the story about the other time I was at Hamburger Mary's, "They even went as far as to stare at me every time they" (not I) "went to the bathroom." I'm sure you were just trying to be funny James, or maybe you misread.
Anyway, I guess I should have had more of a point than to just tell a story and have it ripped apart by people who read what they want. lets just say I expected certain people to attack me, the predictability is sad.
So this is my point: As someone who has both straight and gay friends, I look forward to playing Darts with all of them in a place where we can all feel comfortable to be ourselves.
The problem with this gold ole planet of our is it runs on selfishness. The evidence is all around us.
Religious institutions attacking other religious institutions because they believe in the same things differently.
People attacking/hating others because of a simple difference in skin color.
People who hate others because of a difference in sexual preference.
Politicians and heads of major corporations who are bleeding this planet and it's inhabitants dry for their own personal gain.
People who think they can just throw money at every problem in order to fix it, because it's easier to have someone else do it than to do it themselves.
A-holes on forums who hide behind a keyboard, take themselves too seriously and inject their beliefs and values into every topic with sheer disregard for any positive outcome. (I read an interesting column recently on how the majority of forum users are truly negative spiteful people with a grudge on their shoulders and no other means to vent)
So much suffering going on in this world because of truly miserable people who are more concerned with how others should live their lives instead on focusing on how to productively live their own.
I think I am going to watch Wall*E and forget for a moment how many a-holes there are in this world.
(I read an interesting column recently on how the majority of forum users are truly negative spiteful people with a grudge on their shoulders and no other means to vent)
ReplyDeleteLOL. You had to read a column to figure that one out :) Just kidding, seriously. Butternut, don't let 'em keep you down! There are a few folks here who are OK. It just takes a few posts to realize which one's they are, even if they may not share the same opinions.
... people who are more concerned with how others should live their lives instead on focusing on how to productively live their own.
Amen, brother. As a wise man was once quoted, "Let he without sin cast the first stone." or something like that :)
butternut:
ReplyDeletei was trying to be funny AND i misunderstood. i think the only thing you need to accept is that you are a cool straight guy and if you need some muscle to make sure crepy guys don't misbehave around you, look no further.
I have a new respect for Butternut after his latest post!!!! How great was that! It definitely made me laugh out loud! Oh, and make that a ditto on needing muscle to take care of some creeps! I've got your back bro!
ReplyDelete