Like the brews, the news just keeps flowing from Pilot Project Brewing, which has a brewery and taproom/restaurant in the Brewery District, 1128 N. 9th St.
This week, Block Club Chicago reported that the brewery incubator – which launched in Chicago in 2019 at 2140 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Logan Square and bought the former Milwaukee Brewing Company brewery here three years later – will open a taproom, restaurant and cocktail lounge with a patio and rooftop deck at 3473 N. Clark St. near Wrigley Field.
Co-founder Dan Abel told the site that the new location – expected to swing open its doors in April or May – will feature American street food, about 20-24 tap lines with beer and other beverages, a full bar, wine and its own Devious ready-to-drink cocktails.
"Milwaukee is still our main hub, but the state of Illinois allows up to three brewpubs on one license, so Wrigleyville is meant to capture an entirely unique audience from our Logan Square spot," Abel tells me.
"Ultimately it allows our incubated brands to make a bigger splash and faster."
Last year, Pilot Project announced that it would begin brewing the nonalcoholic beers of Britain's Mash Gang, partnered on a UWM beer and launched the Standard Goods brand of lawnmower beers.
It also moved its summer beer festival from Chicago to Milwaukee.
In August 2023, USA Today named the Milwaukee and Chciago taprooms to its list of America's best beer bars.
“We wanted a spot on the other side of the highway and we love the idea of Wrigleyville because it’s a high concentration of people all the time," Abel explained to Block Club Chicago, "especially on game days.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
