Ready, set… GT’s

It’s nearly the end of July, and there aren’t any coats hanging from the Ducati motorcycle that’s been transformed into a coat rack, which hangs from the wall at GT’s, a neighborhood lounge on Ingersoll.

The bar is decorated in a racing theme in which helmets are arranged in various places, an old engine that has been transformed into a chandelier hangs above the pool table, a stained glass racecar with a driver poised to run adorns the wall, and, according to a few regulars, the bar’s initials stand for “Grand Touring.”

The same regulars say the bar used to be a pharmacy, but one wouldn’t know it now.

Chloe Hall is behind the bar at GT’s on Ingersoll and ready to serve up any one of the 92 beers on hand.

“We have a good selection of euro beers,” said Chloe Hall, bartender at GT. “We have a lot of craft beers and euro beers, but we try and be pretty selective (about what we stock).”

She said they also have many local brews, including Exile, and there are many more including ciders, Stella, Beck’s, Hoegarden, Peroni and many others. GT’s has 92 beers on hand, which is a healthy selection, but even though the refrigerator is teeming with different labels, cans and bottles, the bar doesn’t have any beers on tap.

And it doesn’t have many discounted beers, either. Hall said that while the bar doesn’t have an official happy hour or offer regular specials, there is one thing everyone looks forward to — $2 Old Style tallboys when the Chicago Cubs play.

“We love the Cubs,” she said. “We love our PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon), and Old Style, too.”

Chloe said there aren’t any specials at GT’s, except for a certain rare occurrence.

“Occasionally, we have $1 ‘teacher beers,’ ” she said. “The teachers like them.”

Teacher beers, according to Hall, are offered to anyone but are geared toward rewarding the city’s educators, some of whom frequent GT’s.

A Ducati motorcycle hangs from the wall of GT’s on Ingersoll. In the winter, it doubles as a coat rack.

“I think people come here because it feels like home,” Hall said. “It feels welcome.”

She says she knows most people who come in, and what each person drinks.

“It’s like ‘Cheers’ (the popular 1980s TV show),” offers a man sitting at the bar.

“It’s like a punk-rock ‘Cheers,’ ” amends Hall.

That’s the way they roll. The bar is open 365 days a year, every day, from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.; it’s even open on the holidays.

“Even if the power is out, we’ll still be here,” said another regular, Josh Sullivan.

And that’s just fine with Hall.

“I love being here when it’s crazy busy during a weekend night,” she said. “But I love it here during the day with the regulars, too. I love this job, it’s great.” CV