Cocktails, manicures, and music all in one

The Beauty Bar, Chicago’s newest addition to the bar scene has been drawing attention since the owner’s announced the new Chicago opening. Following the success of two East coast bars, and three west coast bars, owner Paul Devitt decided to give Chicago a try. Last weekend I checked out what all the hype was about, and I have to say I was impressed.

Housed in the former Sonotheque space, the bar is in the same style as the NYC original, which was an old beauty salon turned hip bar. Directly in the entryway is a small manicure table where ladies can post up with their drink and get their nails done. The bar area is the most expansive area of the bar, with a long bar on one side and small tables on the other framed by old school salon hair dryers. Further back is a small dance space, but just big enough to get your groove on without feeling like you are being gawked at. The overall decor and color pallet reminded me of being at a roller skate rink in junior high, but you can get past it.

The bar attracted an array of people, creating quite a scene. It was still searching for its identity during opening weekend, but give it a month and I don’t doubt it will be a solid scenester/hipster hang out with plenty of PBR consumption, but still main stream enough for those looking to dance and want to try something new.

Bottom line: The small cover charge, cheap drinks, great DJ line-up and unique vibe give it lots of lasting Chicago potential — definitely worth a try.