Oak Park’s attitude toward alcohol has always been a little hard to pin down.
When we moved into Oak Park in the mid-80’s, La Majada (R.I.P.) had just received a license to vend booze. Not long after, Poor Phil’s successfully negotiated with the Village to be able to sell beer and spirits as long as they served food…which early on meant free popcorn. Then they started carrying the best oysters west of the Loop. Now, Poor Phil’s is an institution and definitely among the top places to get a drink in our ostensibly “dry” (really more like “moist”) Village.
Not long ago, Bar Louis – a somewhat sad, cookie-cutter place – set up on Lake Street, our Main Street, and put out neon martini glass above the door…but they sold food, so technically, they were not actually a bar, but more a restaurant that just happened to serve drinks. Riiggghhhhttttt.
Now Beer Shop has moved in, and although they offer what is undoubtedly the most impressive range of draft beers, technicalities are still in place.
 Before we go any further, let me say without reservation, Beer Shop is a good thing to have in Oak Park. Friend Roger Lupei and I stopped in last Saturday afternoon, and were impressed by the offerings and the vibe.
I started with a Multigrain Zwickel from Motor Row, a brewery we’ve covered in Newcity, and I was pleased with the lightness and freshness of this unfiltered lager. Lupei, who judged my choice to be “girly,” went with Arcade’s Highly Evolved, which was suitably hoppy for this self-proclaimed “hop head.”
Lupei asked Beer Shop owner Tony Compaglia how it was that they were able to open without serving food, which we thought was a requirement. Compaglia explained that because restaurants deliver to Beer Shop, his joint managed to “get around” the regulations. There are folders of menus scattered about, and people can order from local places like Carnivore, Munch and Mancini’s, but there are no phone numbers on the menu, so one wonders how often people actually call for delivery. While we were there, we did see a group of Youngs enjoying some carry-out food they brought in with them.
Aside from the impressive list of brews of draft, Beer Shop has a wall and a cooler stacked with mostly local beer, most of which you’re not going to easily find at Foremost or Binny’s or other major outlets. Compaglia, originally from San Francisco, has done due diligence, scouting out local breweries, and although no beer is brewed on his premises, Beer Shop is an excellent place to sample some of the best the Midwest has to offer.
We are living in a Golden Age of Beer, and a good place to experience this historical moment is at Beer Shop.
Now, craft beer accounts for maybe 10 percent of the beer market, the rest being handled by the big boys: Bud Lite (the MOST popular beer in the U.S.), Coors, etc. Yawn. Yet, many people still drink this stuff, as I explained in a Newcity piece entitled “This Bud’s for Who?”
“We thought of keeping a row of PBR in our cooler,” said Compaglia, “kind of as a joke, but we have only so much room.” And really, why waste valuable retail real estate for some ironic statement. And for those who come to a place like this and want a macrobrew, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but screw ’em.
So is this Oak Park’s first bar since Prohibition? Well, it’s definitely the closest thing we’ve had to a regular bar since the doomed-to-failure Volstead Act was enacted. But there are a lot of ways that Beer Shop is not what you think of when you think Bar. The bar itself, as Lupei observed, does not take up the whole space; it’s just an element among many other seating areas, including a picnic table and seating along the big windows next to where they store board games. Those big windows also let in a lot of light so the room has a lighter feeling than most bars. There are families there, little kids and even babies, soaking up the genteel vibe, and there was even a dog wandering about when we were there. And the whole tone of the place does not suggest a tavern; rather, Beer Shop is a place to stop for a good beer or two, maybe pick up a bottle of exceptional stuff to bring home.
In the lives of anyone reading this, there has never been a time when there was greater innovation, experimentation, or production of excellent regional beers. Beer Shop is a good place to sample some of them.
To Beer Shop, we who enjoy a beer salute you!
Beer Shop
1026 North Blvd, Oak Park, Illinois 60301
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