Nestled northeast of the tree-lined residential streets in the Lakewood Balmoral district and south of the bustling Loyola University campus lay Chicago's historic Edgewater neighborhood. First developed in the 1880s a summer home for Chicago's elite, Edgewater has become a bustling home to a diverse mix of residents and businesses. For Chris Bowler and Alan Stoll, Edgewater was the perfect space to open Revival Social Club in late 2014.
"We picked this neighborhood because it was a great opportunity to bring in a restaurant/bar concept into a neighborhood that's really seeing a revival," said Stoll. "We like the diversity of the neighborhood and the location right off the redline. There is a large concentration of condominiums to the east and single-family homes to the west. Loyola University is only two blocks away."
According to Stoll, Edgewater residents couldn't be more thrilled. "People come in all the time and say, 'this is what the neighborhood needed.'"
We stopped in on a bright weekday afternoon, just as the lunch crowd was filtering out and the staff prepared for evening service. Large windows line the north side of the restaurant, complimenting the rays coming in from a large skylight in the main dining room.
Revival's menu is diverse with one unifying element: coffee. Head bartender Tim Wells is a fiend, and uses coffee (most often locally roasted Dark Matter) in about a third of the drinks on his new spring cocktail menu - including the "Coffee & Cocoa," which uses coffee-infused KOVAL Bourbon.
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Coffee & Cocoa: KOVAL coffee infused Bourbon, Dominican Rum, Dolin Rouge Sweet Vermouth, Creme de Cacao, Orange bitters |
Tim, a recent Chicago transplant by way of Michigan, got his start in the city at Three Dots and a Dash before teaming up with Alan and the rest of the Revival crew. His drink list has almost every spirit covered, and he crafts his cocktails with the hope that people will be willing to try a spirit they usually shy away from or wouldn't expect to see - like KOVAL's White Rye Whiskey as a substitute for the more traditional vodka in a Moscow Mule.
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White Whiskey Mule: KOVAL White Rye, KOVAL Ginger Liqueur, Lime, Ginger Beer |
For those who haven't spent much time on the far north side of the city, we encourage you to take a walk, or a bike ride, or even a trip on the redline through Edgewater to explore this unique lakefront neighborhood and its collection of antique shops - and maybe end your visit with a quick coffee, drink, or bite at Revival.
