The Store

Classic dive bar with a friendly bartender and a cool music room in the back. Good specials, too.

Best 4am bar ever. Bartenders and bouncers are hilarious and so friendly. Good balance of people who are trashed beyond belief and people in the bar/​food industry that are sober and want a drink after they close.

We have come to The Store several times, mainly to see our friend’s band play on random nights. It has always been a great time and there were never any issues with any other patrons or workers. This past weekend, however, had a very different feel that made our stay rather unenjoyable. In the past, bands were allowed to provide their own visual art with the full understanding of safety and comfort for others. There were never any issues in the past, but on Saturday, the very unfriendly bartender in the back room decided to go off on an anger driven rant and kicked out the entire group without any kind of warning. All he had to do was ask to stop and it would have been done without question. He was incredibly rude and threw many untrue accusations at this performer who was practicing safety and being very courteous to the others watching the show. Having being invited and performed there in the past, the band and artist felt welcomed and excited to come back. Plus, everyone else in the room was having a great time and enjoying the sights and sounds and all the other workers were extremely friendly and helpful, except for this one individual. We still have no idea what the real reason for this episode was, but the best tip to take away from this is stay away from the evil bartender in the back room and you’ll be fine.

The staff and the regulars were so nice and chatty here. I had no/​low expectations for this bar but was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed my time here.

Walked in here after trying a local tapas place and part of me was glad that I did, whereas another part wished I was somewhere else. We walked in here on the 1^st of the year and this dive bar was packed with regulars wearing PJs and watching the Oregon and Florida State game. The bartenders and the servers were busy interacting with the regulars to notice 2 new customers. It took awhile to grab our drinks but that was all the interaction we got from them. Never really felt like I belonged here.

Stumbled in here on the 16^th after determining Manhandler up the street was a total bore.
This place is fun and festive and everyone will welcome you with open arms. A very fun environment!
Loved it!

For the front bar… I would say pretty standard dive. The women’s rest room is atrocious — no lock on the doors (there is one from the bar and then a weird salon door for the one toilet that also has no lock), very dirty and the toilet is super low to the ground and seems pretty busted. Its pretty nasty. If you go here before midnight it is a great atmosphere (before all of the late night wasted youngsters roll in) with some fun regulars and good bar tending.
I give this place four stars for the back room. It is a GREAT place to have a private party and I love the lighting/​décor. The Monday night open mics are really fun and they will record you for no charge and give you the CD shortly after your performance. Lots of fun to sit back there and listen to good, live music. I have seen people grab take out from nearby and bring food back there since they don’t serve food, but we usually hit one of the nearby restaurants before heading over there. I’ve also seen some good local band shows there, and the sounds is really great.

Pretty standard looking bar in Lincoln Park, except they have some basketball machines in the back that seem to be pretty popular. We came here one night for a private show in the adjacent room. The room was small and intimate but they had their own bar, which was convenient. Drink prices are standard, they’re open late, and the staff is friendly enough. Just didn’t love the vibe, it was pretty dead for a Friday night.

This used to be my fav. late night place. Now that I’m a few years out of college, live in the neighborhood and the thought of starting my night out at 11:00 or midnight is preposterous, I really appreciate the relaxed, low key atmosphere that exists before the late-​night shenanigans begin. Cheap drinks for the area, and they always have a really $ 2 beer on special so you never have to break the bank. Great neighborhood bar.
The only downside is also kind of a plus side – it’s right by 7 – 11. Makes it easy to grab a snack or icee for the walk home, but the outside area does get pretty crowded.

For a good part of my life, the only reason I knew about the store was from my credit card statements. This Late Night Bar is where all the bar patrons gather to come get one last chance at scoring or possibly just one more drink.
A great place overall, with great service and quality drinks, this place is definitely a staple in the lincoln park bar scene. A basketball machine in the back seems to be a very popular excitement and the specials are really decent, specially since they get crowds coming in round 2 each night.
Bring cash if you come round 2, there is a small cover.
Enjoy!

Fun, from what I remember. 7 Eleven next door. I remember not much more.

It’s been a few days since I ventured into The Store after 2 am and quite honestly… I still can’t figure out what I think of it. First off, $ 5 cover for a dive that was only going to be open for another 2 hours… personally I think that’s a little wack, but I did get a drink ticket for reasons unknown to me, so I guess that balances out since I didn’t actually pay for my one drink there. It was crowded… interesting crowd. I’m used to crowds being a bit more insane at late night spots, but everyone seemed to be standing or sitting around talking for the most part. I only spotted one couple slobbing each other down disgustingly, that was sadly refreshing. I could barely hear the music but it was just okay.
So the big question is, would I come back? Here’s my rationale: I, being a glutton for punishment, have been to Big City Tap three times in life. Feel free to reference my review of them to see my feelings on that. I also survived Tai’s Til 4. The Store was not as tragic as either of those places, so I can’t say that I wouldn’t go back. I wouldn’t necessarily seek it out, but if I stumble across it, I wouldn’t be vehemently opposed to popping in.

This is my favorite 4 am bar. The crowd does get sloppy, but it’s still diverse, not just college kids, unlike a few places down the street.
The drink prices are not bad, but people are very friendly and often willing to buy a round of drinks for another group.
This is a great place to go in a small group, and the crowd is really friendly so you will definitely make friends. Just be careful if you’re not down for a one night stand– but luckily there’s a whole line of cabs put front so it’s easy to get away.

When I worked in a famous kitchen in Chicago on Saturday nights after work we would come here and get our drink on and it was great, usually both the rooms were open and full of people and great prices on the beers and shots.
I stopped back into the store to catch up with some of my former coworkers and it seemed like old times, the bartenders were the same as were the prices. Sure the Store is not the best bar in Chicago, but it was our neighborhood bar.
The floor is always sticky so just watch out.

My friend decided to have this birthday party in the backroom. In order to get into the back area, we had to pay $ 35 to get in there. From 9pm to 12am, we got unlimited drinks. I got my fair share worth of drinks, but my other friend did even more so than I.
I thought the backroom was an intimate setting. I think it bodes well if you are having a birthday party or a private function. Since this is a small place, the restroom facilities are very limited. My friend was trying to get a towel from the dispenser and the whole thing fell on him.
However, if it wasn’t for that party, I would prefer to go somewhere else.

4am BAR in Lincoln Park.
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What else is there to know? Ok, fine… a few other things…
«The Store» is an adequate name for a bar that’s sort of just… there. Ya know… not bad. Not great. Some redeeming qualities, but not super star, get me up on the bar, I’mma gonna drink my liver full tonight kind of place. Well, maybe for some people it is.
It IS open til 4am. In Lincoln Park. I can imagine the post-​2am crowd is delightful. I was there closer to the midnight witchin’ hour… so I cannot complain about the crowd. In fact it was decidedly quiet/​calm, and not Depaul student looking at all.
Pop-​a-​Shot Basketball (I’m above average, thankyou)
Cheapish Beer ($ 3 bottle specials, its all relative)
Big Buck Hunter Game
Divey bathrooms
Older bartenders (thankfully, older than 21… I wonder at some places)
No Food
I’m not racing back, but if I found myself in this neighborhood I’d certainly choose it over the myriad of pub-​in-​boxes, et al. Oh, and I’lll challenge you to oval-​rimmed bball shootout, too. I betcha I can win. Maybe.

I have coming to this bar for years and recently revisited it on a trip back. For a late night bar I would say this is one of the funnest I have been to I have never been here any earlier than about 3am and I can’t imagine to many other people here earlier than that but I often find myself enjoying the store more than where I started out. I have been to this place many times as i used to live in the neiborhood and from my prospective it brings in the following crowds. 1. y-d-d-k’s (young dumb depaul kids) which are generally annoying but there is usually some cute girls there who have been hanging out with immature male classmates so they’re usually thrilled to hangout with non fratboys. 2. The early shift– bartenders or other service industry folk that are lucky enough to have found a solid job that doesn’t keep them up till the asscrack of dawn. 3. Runoff from cubbies games still sporting jerseys and wrigleyville obnoxiousnous. 4. The classic neiborhood alcy.
You might be saying to yourself «this doesn’t really sound like a great crowd why would danny give this bar such high marks.» I honestly don’t know but somehow I’ve managed to never really have a bad time here. You just gotta see for urself.

I have a strong issue with this place.
First, Its a dive… its small, dark, nothing special
Second, and way more importantly they are RUDE. I left my credit card there after a long, crazy night. I called them the next day to make sure it was still there and they let me know that it was. I told them I would be in two days from then and they said it was ok. When I got there the guy was very rude and mean to me! «I have no clue what your talking about and I dont know what to tell you we dont have your card». He didnt even really look or care and I was in tears because it was my boyfriends birthday and needed my credit card to take him out!
I will not be back on pure principal… that place sucks.

I feel like I am another clown in the tiny car cause this place is always jam packed. On one occasion I had some friends from England and Australia staying with me and we ended up at the store. We didn’t make it more than 20 feet from the door because they apparently just keep letting in douche bag after douche bag. (one of which I watched spit his chewing tobacco on the floor). WOW, Really though dude?
More recently I ended up there and had to pay a $ 5 cover… what in the? Still just as crowded only this time around I found out there is this side room that you actually think is a coat room… there was an odd crowd of what seemed like biker moms and dads, mixed among the early 20 somethings and DePaul kids. I also made it to the back of the bar and played some Bball which is the reason this place is getting a 2^nd star.
**oh yeah and good thing I’m not fat or I wouldn’t fit in the bathroom, drinks were average priced, but I still think that paying cover is BS.

Even if I am somewhat a fan of college and late night bars, I can’t say I will head back to this place. I was a little turned off by the $ 5 cover charge, but no biggie. Within a minute of walking in, I moved an empty stool from the bar so I could move in and get a drink. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt a DEATH CLAW on my shoulder, the stool was ripped from my hands, and a scary man shook his head at me and said «put it back». Another young man made the same mistake about 5 minutes later, so at least I knew the «stool monitor» was not completely against me.
Even if the drinks were cheap and made well, something like that can really ruin a bar experience. If they had a $ 10 cover like some reviews have said, I would DEFINITELY pass it up for a much better scene. Yakzies anyone?