Frank & Mary’s Tavern, 2905 N. Elston. (D. Hoekstra photo)
There used to be a lot of blue-collar bars like Frank and Mary’s in Chicago.
You might walk through the front door under a 44-pound replica muskie in a glass case. A brown “Richard J. Daley Mayor Vote Democratic” shopping bag might sit in a dusty frame near the flickering television near the old tin ceiling. A silver toothpick dispenser might sit in the middle of the bar.
But there’s no right in might.
Brother and sister Frank and Mary Stark opened Frank and Mary’s, 2905 N. Elston in 1972. The muskie, the Daley bag, and [...]
Mark “Max” Brumbach has a gift for me.
Because of that he has a gift for you, too.
As I walk into Brumbach’s new version of the music room-cafe Township, 2200 N. California Ave., he hands over a copy of the Images of America book “Chicago Entertainment Between the Wars 1919-1939.” The picture book is filled with stuff like an ad for Bert Kelly’s Stables, 431 Rush St.: Free Drinks Every Nite As Many As You Wish–no charge for dancing. Our waiter sings. Our Cook Dances. NOW FREDDIE KEPPARD World’s greatest colored jazz cornetist and his great dance band….”
Brumbach is a fine musician, [...]
