Atmosphere Bar gets a new identity as Atmosphere 2.0, "An Upscale Dive"
Thu. December 13, 2012 10:57 AM by Anthony Morgano
regina upright previews the new atmosphere 2.0 tables
photo credit // chris white
Chicago, IL -
Atmosphere Bar, located at 5355 N Clark St in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood, reopened on November 30 as Atmosphere 2.0. Opened over 10 years ago, Atmosphere is Andersonville's oldest gay bar and owner Charlie Brown wanted to give this local watering hole a facelift to help increase traffic not only to his bar, but to the neighborhood at large.
"I am hoping this will infuse a little more life and interest into the nightlife of Andersonville. Hopefully people will talk about the bar and it will get more people into the neighborhood -- if only to look," Brown told ChicagoPride.com. "The more people that come, the better it will be for the neighborhood. With the new restaurants, I think a new concept for the bar will just add to the effect."
In addition to several physical changes, Brown also changed the bar's tag line, hoping to help give it a new identity as "an upscale dive." This new tag line is replacing the old "never a cover, never an attitude," but patrons can rest assured that Atmosphere 2.0 will continue to be cover and attitude-free.
The first physical change loyal customers will notice is a new coat of red paint applied to the outside of the bar. Inside, Brown uses neon colors, lighting effects and mirrors to grab patrons' attention, saying he wanted to acquire items nobody else had in order to offer a unique experience. A new lighting installation behind the bar consists of 18 vertically mounted poles whose bright lights jump, switch and dance in sync with the music pumping out of the nearby DJ booth.
The tall tables throughout the bar have also changed -- their tops glow brightly with contrasting neon colors that resemble gel or oil blending together. By pushing on the tabletops with their hands, the customers can move the gel-like substance and alter the pattern of these tables, which retain their glow by being plugged in and charged every night.
"The tables are the only ones of their kind in the USA right now -- they were designed to my specifications, and took months," Brown said. "They literally had to come over on a ‘slow boat from China.'"
The physical changes round off with new coats of paint and chalkboards installed in the bathrooms, in addition to new sets of mirrors hung throughout the bar.
After being closed for a week to make these changes, Atmosphere 2.0 threw a re-launch party on November 30. The soiree featured a slew of the bar's favorite hot male dancers as well as drag performances, featuring both Regina Upright, who hosts the bar's weekly "Bipolar Fridays" event and Angelique Munro, who hosts "Diva," an all-drag revue, on the first and third Sunday of the month.
"The opening was better than we expected -- lots of people came in to check out the bar. While there were lots of familiar faces, we had many new faces too," Brown said, adding: "Over the first week we have had many more people than usual stop in for a drink. The support from the community has been wonderful and my staff has been spectacular throughout the changes."
A few changes are also being made to the daily drink specials, but the entertainment, which includes Regina, Angelique and hot male dancers every Thursday through Sunday, will remain the same. Not everything Brown wanted has been accomplished yet, as he told ChicagoPride.com "we continue to be a work in progress -- every week, more changes occur."
Stop by the bar, located kitty-corner from Hamburger Mary's, near the intersection of Clark and Balmoral in Andersonville.
"I am hoping this will infuse a little more life and interest into the nightlife of Andersonville. Hopefully people will talk about the bar and it will get more people into the neighborhood -- if only to look," Brown told ChicagoPride.com. "The more people that come, the better it will be for the neighborhood. With the new restaurants, I think a new concept for the bar will just add to the effect."
In addition to several physical changes, Brown also changed the bar's tag line, hoping to help give it a new identity as "an upscale dive." This new tag line is replacing the old "never a cover, never an attitude," but patrons can rest assured that Atmosphere 2.0 will continue to be cover and attitude-free.
The first physical change loyal customers will notice is a new coat of red paint applied to the outside of the bar. Inside, Brown uses neon colors, lighting effects and mirrors to grab patrons' attention, saying he wanted to acquire items nobody else had in order to offer a unique experience. A new lighting installation behind the bar consists of 18 vertically mounted poles whose bright lights jump, switch and dance in sync with the music pumping out of the nearby DJ booth.
The tall tables throughout the bar have also changed -- their tops glow brightly with contrasting neon colors that resemble gel or oil blending together. By pushing on the tabletops with their hands, the customers can move the gel-like substance and alter the pattern of these tables, which retain their glow by being plugged in and charged every night.
"The tables are the only ones of their kind in the USA right now -- they were designed to my specifications, and took months," Brown said. "They literally had to come over on a ‘slow boat from China.'"
The physical changes round off with new coats of paint and chalkboards installed in the bathrooms, in addition to new sets of mirrors hung throughout the bar.
After being closed for a week to make these changes, Atmosphere 2.0 threw a re-launch party on November 30. The soiree featured a slew of the bar's favorite hot male dancers as well as drag performances, featuring both Regina Upright, who hosts the bar's weekly "Bipolar Fridays" event and Angelique Munro, who hosts "Diva," an all-drag revue, on the first and third Sunday of the month.
"The opening was better than we expected -- lots of people came in to check out the bar. While there were lots of familiar faces, we had many new faces too," Brown said, adding: "Over the first week we have had many more people than usual stop in for a drink. The support from the community has been wonderful and my staff has been spectacular throughout the changes."
A few changes are also being made to the daily drink specials, but the entertainment, which includes Regina, Angelique and hot male dancers every Thursday through Sunday, will remain the same. Not everything Brown wanted has been accomplished yet, as he told ChicagoPride.com "we continue to be a work in progress -- every week, more changes occur."
Stop by the bar, located kitty-corner from Hamburger Mary's, near the intersection of Clark and Balmoral in Andersonville.