By Erin Randolph erin@dmcityview.com

Kelley's on Beaver is a please-all kind of place

"That's something I'm going to miss when I die: bars with back doors."
Drinking Assistant Brian is referring to the rear entrance/exit at Kelley's, a drinking establishment on Beaver Avenue, that keeps us chilled during our Thursday night stay at this laid-back bar with an obvious penchant for Windy City sports teams (Cubs, not White Sox). Chicago paraphernalia hangs on the walls, and we can only imagine the televisions air Bulls and Cubs games when they're on.

The bartender tell us that this is an especially slow Thursday night, as there are only about 15 to 20 people in the joint at any given time between 10 p.m. and 1:20 a.m., when we're told it's last call. Though domestic bottles are only $2.75 regularly priced, we're a bit shocked to learn that this place never has drink specials. Except, of course, during happy hour (4 to 7 p.m.), when pints are only $1. We hear Fridays are the busiest nights here.

With plenty of wood and green paint on the walls, a brick wall with arched windows covered in stained glass and accented with potted plants and a peculiar wooden phone booth at the entrance, we appreciate the cozy dŽcor. And though Kelley's serves food until 10 p.m., the place still feels a little too much like an eatery during those drinks-only after hours, as the seating overwhelmingly consists of restaurant-type tables. We were hoping for more high-tops.

That aside, Kelley's is a bar that tries to please everyone, and it's pretty clear from the highly diverse, yet small crowd in attendance on this night that it's succeeding in its mission. There's a hunter-type guy in the corner sportin' his red-and-black plaid fleece button-down, the alternative types rockin' their "Evil Dead" and Misfits T-shirts, the upper middle-aged couples wearing, well, what upper middle-aged couples wear, and the preppy twentysomethings kickin' around in their bright white K-Swiss. We're sure it helps that the bar's wall-mounted jukebox carries everything from tunes by The Shins to Fountains of Wayne to William Shatner to Styx. Yes, Styx.

We're reminded of this fact when Drinking Assistant Mike plays a Styx rock block, yelling, every single time another cheesy tune starts up, "Turn up the Styx!"
But then there's the Billy Joel, an obvious favorite of D.A. Brian.

"Billy Joel gives me a boner," Brian says, though in a heterosexual male-crush kind of way. "He's so awesome. He's all about playing the rock 'n' roll piano. It's so awesome because nobody ever does it."

Brian and Mike are both playing pool on the lone table, situated in a back corner amidst a sea of neon beer signs that's almost a sensory overload of sorts in this otherwise dimly lit bar. But before long - like we said, a very early 1:20 a.m. last call - the bartender's over tugging on their strings, relieving our eyes from the sting of accidentally looking directly into their colored glow.

So we head out to Perkins for an after-hours stomach greaser, content on having visited a new place to keep on the back burner should we need a laid-back bar to visit for cheap drinks, good music and a diverse crowd.

Bar notes

Mannings is planning its fourth annual Super Bowl/Anniversary party on Sunday, Feb. 5, with free beer, free pool and a hog roast... Zoo Brew may have ended with the cold weather, but it's not too late to get your drink on at Blank Park Zoo. A Winter Luau fund raiser is planned for Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, which includes dinner, a cash bar and music by Monkey, Monkey, Monkey. For more information, visit www.blankparkzoo.com... The Lift is celebrating the first anniversary of iPod Monday on Feb. 13 with drink specials, food and the chance to win an iPod Video. The Lift is still looking for businesses and individuals to help sponsor the event. CV

Comment on this story | Return to top