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After sitting dormant for roughly a quarter-century, a beloved Avondale watering hole is stepping back into the spotlight.
Belmont Tavern, a revival of the historic neighborhood bar at 3405 West Belmont Avenue, is slated to open this month under the direction of award-winning bartender Nick Kokonas, bringing new energy and serious cocktail cred to a space that served locals for decades.
Kokonas, who’s known for his work at Queen Mary, Longman & Eagle and GreenRiver, is leaning into the building’s past rather than wiping it clean. The tavern’s rebirth centers on the ethos “Everything Old Is New Again,” a guiding principle that shapes both the drinks and the design. His goal, as he describes it, is to create a community-driven cocktail bar that honors its 60-year legacy while functioning as a creative training ground for up-and-coming bartenders.
The inaugural beverage program draws on more than two decades of Kokonas’s cocktail experiments, featuring inventive spins that are just nerdy enough to intrigue Chicago’s drink obsessives without scaring off casual crowds. There’s a Mint Shrub Julep with sherry and Champagne vinegar, a rye-based “Sazaracish” that riffs on the New Orleans classic and Coin Toss, a globe-trotting mix of lime, matcha, cacao and tonic water. Even the menu’s quirks nod to local life, like the Bus Tracker, an Old Style and shot combo inspired by the Belmont & Kimball transit shuffle, plus a zero-proof “Ghost Bus” for sober-curious regulars.
But Belmont Tavern’s biggest flex might be the room itself. Rather than gutting the historic interior, Kokonas preserved signature elements like the glass-block bar, copper-toned tin ceiling and original back bar, letting the building’s history shine through. Salvaged church pews have been turned into seating and tabletops; vintage Chicago-made chairs are paired with a retrofitted booth sourced from the former Michael Jordan Steakhouse; and one-of-a-kind lighting, scavenged from auctions and antique shops, gives the 1,600-square-foot space a warm, slightly eccentric glow.
With room for about 60 seated guests and a total occupancy of just under 100, the vibe skews intimate—more neighborhood hangout than velvet-rope destination—and that’s very much the point. Belmont Tavern aims to be the kind of place where you drop in for one cocktail and accidentally stay all night, rediscovering a slice of Chicago history that’s finally back where it belongs.