The meticulously restored 125-year-old Pilsen landmark, Thalia Hall, has a new musical draw. Combining the socially magnetic properties of lounge piano with the playful depravity of a saloon, the owners of Thalia Hall, Dusek’s Board & Beer (with a menu architected by Michelin-starred chef Jared Wentworth), retro-chic maritime cellar Punch House, and Hyde Park’s hearth-driven bastion The Promontory officially announce the opening of Tack Room, a new cocktail/piano bar concept that furnishes Thalia Hall with another community haven for refreshments, bar snacks and good cheer.
The 1,200 sq. ft., 40-seat space in the former carriage house portion of Thalia Hall where proprietor John Dusek kept his horses some 100 years ago boasts high-ceilings and an equine-inspired aesthetic. The space includes distressed wood-slatted tables, galloping horse wallpaper, and horseshoes and yokes adorning the walls, in addition to maintaining some of the original artifacts and architectural details, which have been preserved and restored.
At the space’s center sits a patinated grand piano surrounded by bar stools, where, Thursday through Saturday at 9:00 p.m., patrons sitting at the piano top to have their lounge experience narrated by a live piano player performing familiar sing-alongs.
A casual, cocktail-focused addendum to Thalia Hall’s formative attractions (i.e. Dusek’s Board & Beer, Punch House, and the eponymous concert venue), Tack Room’s eclectic beverage highlights include crushed ice drinks such as sherry cobbler on tap and mint juleps in addition to myriad rotating craft beer selections. Revived from relative obscurity by 16 on Center beverage director Dustin Drankiewicz, the fortified wine-based cobbler, a prominent beverage list feature, was a drink that enjoyed popularity during the later half of the 1800s when John Dusek spent time operating the carriage house space that Tack Room now occupies.
Outside, tables topped with lantern candles line Tack Room’s back porch patio, situated along Allport Street, which offers a breezy refuge for passing the time before enjoying dinner at Dusek’s, a show at Thalia Hall, or craft punch at Punch House. Tack Room will also supplement Thalia Hall’s Dusek’s Board & Beer and Punch House as a private event space.
