Weed's Tavern

1555 N. Dayton St. (1600N, 800W)
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 943-7815

"Just plain uncategorizable" – Time Out Chicago

Weed's is located at the corner of Weed and Dayton Street, on the stretch of Weed where all the other bars are not located (they are two blocks west), otherwise known as the "back of beyond." The tavern is overshadowed by the gargantuan, now defunct, Homemaker's/Expo warehouse in a dark, yet decent neighborhood, and is close to where the Golden Ox once pulled its plow. Weed's is truly a unique experience. "I think we're the only normal bar in Chicago," lies Sergio Mayora, the head bartender, artist-in-residence and public face of the tavern. I think of Weed's as a cross between Delilah's or Shoes Pub, and the Hideout. The establishment dates back to at least 1928 when it was known as, "Flisser Anton Soft Drinks." Weed's Tavern, also known as the "Fifteen 55 Club" for its address, was born in 1964 and, though the neighorhood was terrible back then thanks to nearby Cabrini Green, has been going strong ever since.

Upon walking into Weed's, one is first greeted by a hastily painted wooden bust of Sergio Mayora looking up at one of the TVs, holding a bottle of Cuervo Tequila. Upon my first visit, I observed the real Mayora standing next to the bust, in the same pose, with the same overalls and tinted glasses, although sans Tequila bottle (though I'm sure one was close at hand). Tequila is the Mayora's favorite drink whom you might get a free shot from if you're new to the bar, an old regular, or if he's drunk. According to Mayora: "We ran out of tequila twice, and nobody knew what to do. It was like a Mexican restaurant running out of beans." It reminds me of the bald, ex-Navy Seal owner/bartender of Spike's Rat Bar that routinely gave away free lemon drop shots. Let's hope the Cuervo continues to flow at Weed's like a smoothly-running La Preferida assembly line. The linoleum-laminated bar juts out from the eastern wall, allowing for patrons a chance at one of the high-backed, very comfortable barstools almost three-quarters of the way around it.

Beyond the infamous bust, you will quickly notice hundreds of bras, panties, jockstraps, condoms, and shoes hanging from the ceiling, and other various oddities scattered across the room. According to the manager, Greg Martinez, "The bras are kind of a holdover from Underwear Night. People wear their underwear outside their clothes. Someone threw their bra up there.'' At which point others, many others, followed. Ladies please remember: in order to add to the decor, you must be wearing underwear. On another theme night, Audubon's Birthday, a legacy of shoes was left in the rafters. Mayora wanted to bring in stuffed birds to honor Audubon, but when that proved too expensive, he naturally substituted a box of shoes that was found in an alley (as you do). The night was renamed ''Birdbrains and Stupid Shoes Day.'' Nowadays, patrons leave poems in the shoes. I still haven't received an adequate explanation for the condoms. [Editor's note: upon my latest visit, the undergarments and shoes were gone temporarily, along with the drop ceiling, except for a few bras hung on the eastern wall. I'm sure they'll be looking to replenish the supply, ladies...]

Being the first part of the year at the time of my second visit, I spied strings of lighted mini-Santas hanging from the ceiling, a plastic lighted choir boy (minus a head), psychedelic posters from the 1960's, and a random picture of a woman's naked midsection (which caused my date's eyes to bug out, literally). Also seen was a hexagonal mirror mosaic, odd assortment of lamps, and serapes as tablecloths. [Editor's note: the booths have been replaced by a smattering of cocktail trables and back-less bartstools, along with an electronic dartboard and Golden Tee machine.]

Weed's is also a great place to see live performances. They have a sound system which is one of the few in Chicago that does not cause your ears to ring as soon as you've left. Saturday is open-microphone night, and performers are allowed to sign up freely on a first come, first serve basis (without restrictions). Performers range from rock bands to poetry, comedy to jazz. Rockers beware: the house rules state that bands will not be paid by the bar. Instead, performers must staff someone of their own at the door to charge a cover. My friend's band "Bed" forgot to put someone at the door, so it was a night of music for free. Prior to that, I saw a jazz combo for $2.

Monday is "Uncensored Poetry Night," a "frontier style" deliberate and vocal free-for-all for poets, complete with plenty of ribald language and sometimes bilingual poetry (English and Spanish), now hosted by Gregorio Gomez. This tradition began in 1987 with Marc Smith, who now hosts the Green Mill's "Uptown Poetry Slam" on Sundays. Monday-night poetry slams helped Weed's become, according to e-poets.net, "one of Chicago's most egalitarian poetry venues." Poets beware: the crowd (including Martinez and Mayora) are rowdy and not afraid to hurl obscenities or criticisms at any poet – but not for bad poetry, only bad attitude. Even Sergio performs the only two poems he has ever written, dating back to his years in middle school. He must recite them every week, as I witnessed the crowd yelling out the last word of every line in synch with Sergio. Weed's has also played host to poetry festivals and is a good example of where you can find some of the best poets in Chicago, both young and old. Check out the Weed's Monday MySpace page for more info and for Gregorio's famous poem, The City, which he often ends Monday night with.

Tuesday and Wednesday are both "Comfort Night," when the lights are turned down and the music gets mellow. Thursdays are for jazz. Prior to performances, you'll find a small pool table in front of where the bands play. The ripe-smelling bathrooms are located down the hallway, to your left. Bring a permanent marker.

Also of note, is the beer garden at Weed's, formerly an auto body shop that was torn down. Once referred to by The Official Chicago Bar Guide (1994) as "dumpster Baroque," with its interesting assortment of lawn furniture, aforementioned dumpster, a piano that's seen better days (much better), and shredded plastic bags caught on razor wire surrounding the outside walls. Today, this triangular space now offers several new tables with umbrellas, a small structure with lattice walls, a free game of bags or "cornhole," and is one of the least-known and most spacious beer gardens in the city. They are planning to install a kitchen at Weed's but, until then, the Tamale Guy makes at least one nightly appearance and the owner's son John grills up free, authentic Mexican food every Friday night.

"In the summer of 1999, my wife & I drove around the block in this area of town, to find some damn street or the other (from Kansas City, with a roadmap in our face, though we came to Chicago every other year since 1977)... driving up the street about 8:30p.m. we saw the entry to Weed's and we could see Sergio's sculptural face at bar level staring out into the night, so what could we possibly do but go in? It was Monday night. It (poetry night) was a top-ten highlight of our life. We were early enough to get a prime seat at the bar at the front. Sergio was in a most appropriate mood (not always the case) and gave us some drinks to go with our several beers and all the great entertainment... but, after midnight, it was too late to get food, so Sergio sent out for stuff to be delivered to the bar just for us as we were getting hammered. We finished it off by 1:00a.m. and got back to the Cass Hotel. We could talk about that night for a hundred years. But, my wife died from colon cancer last fall, so it will just be a big old perfect memory as long as I live."

– G.J. (March 3, 2004)

Weed's is a great place to have a beer and a shot, listen to some music or slam poetry, and chill out. The crowd can best be described as odd, yet diverse, just like those who work there. And with free food on Friday, and free cornhole every day, you can't go wrong at Weed's in summer unless Sergio brings you too many tequila shots. For more information, you'll have to call the bar as Weed's Tavern does not have a website. Dig it.

"Half a block from hell and a million miles from nowhere, this is purgatory..."

~ Have a good story relating to this bar? E-mail it to me. ~

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– written by Sean Parnell