bars

AV Nightclub opened in April in the historic Marion building with room for 320. A DJ booth is the centerpiece of the space, and it is surrounded by Baroque-era-inspired embellishments. There are Roosevelt tufted chesterfield banquettes behind each table, and there’s a patio with ivy-covered walls and an outdoor fireplace. AV comes from hospitality veterans Matt Bendik and Tosh Berman of AV Hospitality. Interior designer Davis Krumins is behind the look, and Steve Lieberman of SJL Lighting designed the lighting system to go along with the venue’s Funktion One Sound System from Dan Agne of Sound Investments.

Located on the Sunset Strip in the former London Fog space where Jim Morrison and The Doors spent time as the house band, Rock & Reilly's opened in November. The indoor-outdoor West Hollywood space holds 160 over 2,500 square feet and two floors.

In April, Montage Beverly Hills opened the renamed and renovated Parq Bar. The space offers outdoor seating overlooking the Beverly Canon Gardens and nightly entertainment. In addition to drinks, a menu offers the likes of house-made charcuterie, and sushi rolls and sashimi. Afternoon tea is available and is served in delicate, hand-painted china by porcelain artist Lissi Kaplan, with savory and sweet bites from executive chef Gabriel Ask. In-house interior designer Nina Petronzio of Plush Home redesigned Parq Bar by updating the fabric color scheme to include luxe draperies and original works from the hotel’s fine art collection.

Opened in April, Outpost offers country music, classic rock, and televisions, and includes among its decor artist canvasses depicting the heroes of the old west. The space offers beers and cocktails amid stained mahogany and relaxed seating, along with a menu of American comfort food.

The 1933 Group’s La Cuevita opened May 4 in Highland Park. Focusing on traditional agave spirits, the bar offers a selection of tequila and mescal as well as other hand-crafted cocktails. The La Cuevita space, formally the 1933 Group’s Little Cave, is principal-designer Bobby Green’s homage to an old-world Mexican grotto-bar. The space has a rustic wood beam ceiling, exposed-brick walls, and imported Mexican antiques. Stained glass lighting and iron fixtures adorn the walls, and 100-year-old doors from a Mexican church flank the patio and front entrance of the building. There are two patios in all.

The newest outpost of the Mexican restaurant Pink Taco was slated to open on the Sunset Strip by the end of May, with two bars intended to draw a nightlife crowd. The space that is home to the new 12,000-square-foot, three-level Pink Taco most recently housed Miyagi’s and once housed the Player’s Club in the 1940s. Harry Morton stripped and restored the Pink Taco Sunset Strip’s interiors to the exposed brick and raw steal ironwork. The design includes Dia de Los Muertos street graffiti, subway tiles from downtown L.A.’s metro station, murals of Lucha Libres, Calavera, and goddess Mictecacihuatl, and vintage candelabras that hang from the ceiling. The 120-seat, indoor-outdoor ground level includes the largest patio on Sunset Boulevard.

Sadie is new Hollywood bar and lounge serving artisan cocktails and craft beers, attached to a restaurant that serves new American cuisine. Sadie is an old Craftsman house that was physically moved to this location in 1996 from across the parking lot. Fully redesigned to showcase three distinct spaces, Sadie includes the parlor, which houses a cocktail bar; a lounge in the center of the building, which has a copper beer tower that dispenses craft beer and local wine by the glass; and the courtyard dining room, which has an indoor-outdoor feel with a retractable awning. The dining room holds 125, the lounge 55, and the parlor 65.

The bar at the new modern Mexican restaurant Tortilla Republic offers 18 seats and a corner table. The whole space, which opened in March, holds 125. The venue offers a growing list of more than 50 100-percent agave tequilas from Mexico, signature margaritas with house-made agave, classic cocktails, Mexican beer, and Spanish and South American wines. Each fixture and piece of furniture was custom-made in Mexico for the venue. There’s also a patio overlooking Robertson Boulevard and a private dining room.

Agency is a new Hollywood nightclub with room for 300 guests. The venue also has a back room area that holds 50 people for more intimate events that can be sectioned off with a curtain for privacy. Decor includes bold red tones and animal prints. The venue has an LED wall and a massive DJ booth that commands attention in the space.

SBE Nightlife Group's new Greystone Manor Supperclub is meant to evoke the Renaissance, with ornate chandeliers and millwork. There's a dance floor surrounded by two full-service bars, plus a menu of shared plates. Decor includes vintage sofas finished with aged leather and velvet. A lounge area within is right for smaller groups.

Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique offers private wine and cupcake tastings at its River North bakery. The two-hour tastings can accommodate groups of 20 to 25 and start at $28 per head with a $100 space rental fee. Each guest gets three tasting portions of wine and six mini cupcakes. This fall, the treats come in flavors such as chocolate-orange (pictured), chocolate-caramel, and chai latte.

Kehoe Designs recently hosted an open house to showcase some new design schemes for fall. One area, dubbed "Madly Masculine," was inspired by Mad Men and housed a circular tufted leather bar with a bronze top. Overhead, a drum shade crowned a welded tree sculpture with bottles hanging from its branches.

Truffleberry Market Catering has added savory ice cream cones to their offerings. Initially developed for a carnival-themed party, the hors d'oeuvre fills handmade wonton cones with creamy burrata cheese. Aged balsamic vinegar drizzled over the top resembles chocolate sauce, and a sun-dried tomato stands in for the cherry on top.

The Great Divide is a Chicago-based soul-and-blues-based rock band, which is available for corporate events. The band released its debut album, Reservoir, in 2010 and is set to record a follow-up soon. The group has played at festivals like South by Southwest, and recently entertained crowds at the opening of Timberland's Michigan Avenue store (pictured).

The Timberland opening also had an "organic beverage bar" from Entertaining Company that complemented the brand's earthy image. Guests could blend Veev organic vodka with mint lemonade, peach Palmer (peach puree with lemonade and iced tea), or acai tropical punch (a mix of acai juice, strawberry puree, and pineapple juice). Garnishes included fresh rosemary, sage, spearmint, and basil leaves, vodka-soaked blueberries, and tomatoes soaked in vodka and dusted with sea salt.

BBJ Table Fashions had a 30th anniversary blowout bash at the Chicago History Museum in August to showcase some of the company's new fall inventory. One space, designed by HMR Design Group, showcased BBJ's new line of retro-print shantung fabric. The bar displayed the Mandarin Vintage shantung, and the shelving was decorated with the Saffron Delirium shantung. Both patterns are available in alternate colors.

Billed as an ice cream truck for adults, Ice-Cubed is a new catering service with offerings that go way beyond Hoodsie cups. Specializing in small-batch ice cream, handmade ice pops, and other frozen desserts, Ice-Cubed offers flavors inspired by savory dishes. The "Prix Fixe" ice pop features layers of flavors inspired by a five-course Italian mealm including prosecco, lemon beet salad, bresaola, veal ragout, tomato confit, and tiramisu. The "Cubed" menu offers frosted treat cubes in flavors such as hot chocolate biscotti, and burnt milk with peach jam and cloves. The truck is available for meetings and events by the hour, and staffers can create custom flavors.

FYI Frozen Yogurt Inspirations is another new source of icy catered desserts. Advertised as Chicago's first and only self-serve frozen yogurt truck, the vehicle has appeared at events like the Street Food Artistry festival. It's also available for meetings and private events on a case-by-case basis. The truck services groups of at least 50 guests and has three frozen yogurt machines that offer six flavors. The yogurt is prepared with local, farm-fresh milk and comes in flavors such as tiramisu, raspberry, and Dutch chocolate.

Local companies Katherine Anne Confections and North Shore Distillery recently partnered to create a teambuilding activity called Chocolate and Cocktails. The activity, which can take place at offices, event spaces, at Katherine Anne's Lincoln Park shop, or at the Lake Bluff distillery, starts with a welcome cocktail. Guests then sample five mini cocktails paired with treats. For example, a citrus-chamomile vodka, lemon, and sparkling wine cocktail might be served with a homemade orange-ginger marshmallow. Teams can compete to create the best cocktails to pair with the sweets, and staffers can also lead groups through truffle-making or cocktail-making classes. The activities are geared toward groups with 20 to 40 guests, and the cost is $50 to $125 per person.

Chicagoland Skydiving Center has recently partnered with Kapow Events to create client entertaining and teambuilding activities at the venue's Drop Zone. Completed this summer, the $2 million Drop Zone offers an on-site restaurant, conference rooms, volleyball courts, bonfire pits, and an audiovisual system equipped for live music. Staffers can take out multiple planes to accommodate larger group sizes, and the cost per tandem jump is typically around $189 per head. There are additional fees for food and beverage.