“When Nick Kokonas moved to Chicago in 2004, he passed the dark blue facade of an Avondale building with the words ‘Belmont Tavern’ and wondered what was behind the painted windows.
“At the time, the tavern, 3405 W. Belmont Ave., had been closed for four years after about six decades as a working-class Polish dive bar that served beer, liquor, smokes and a family meal, Kokonas would come to learn.
“‘When I ended up seeing a ‘For Lease’ sign in the window, a good friend of mine was like, ‘You know, it’s free to do a walk-through,’” Kokonas said last week. ‘As soon as I walked through the door and saw the bar was still existing here — the copper-colored tint ceiling; the old, original, beat-up floors — I immediately fell in love with the place.”
“Kokonas, not to be confused with the Alinea and Tock founder of the same name, set out on a nearly two-year thrifting and reconstruction adventure to bring the bar up to code, outfit it with vintage items to recall its history and create affordable cocktails that follow the bar’s ethos ‘Everything Old Is New Again,’ also the menu’s name.
“The bar has repurposed pews from the Fourth Congregational Church in Logan Square, which is being turned into modern apartments, and from an Irish church on the South Side, with additional pews transformed into tabletops and menu holders.
“Old power-line insulators are used as votive candle holders, and vintage speakers hang from the walls — just a few things people can look for, he said. He also recreated the tavern’s plate-glass front door, furniture and even wallpaper, which he recreated from samples found during the renovation.
“Throughout the renovation, made possible in part through a city grant, Kokonas connected with family members of the original Belmont Tavern owners. They gave him photos of the space and a “rare opportunity” to learn about the tavern’s glory days, he said.
“As Kokonas was told, the original bar opened in 1940 under Mitchell and Edwin Kaczmarek after their parents bought the two-story building in 1937. They served beer, liquor and cigarettes to nearby factory workers, and Mitchell’s wife, Irene, would make one meal out of the small kitchen.
“Business and drinks flowed at the bar until 1977, when the factory closed and foot traffic dwindled. Food service ended with Irene’s death in 1982, and the bar operated as a key club in the ’90s, keeping odd hours, as some shared online. The bar closed in 2000 and the building sat dormant until 2024, when it was up for sale and Kokonas walked in, he said.
“It’s nice to have those details in order to better honor the history of what Belmont Tavern was while definitely pushing it in a new and different direction,’ Kokonas said. ‘There are many of these places that have faded over the years and disappeared. … It’s really fabulous to take something that is iconic in a lot of ways, and bring it back to all its glory.'” (Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago, 2/3/26)