Blue Frog's Local 22 From Bar Rescue Has Closed

Blue Frog's Local 22 in Chicago, Illinois which appeared on the first season of Bar Rescue has closed.  Last night was their last night in business as the owners plan to retire.  The bar posted the following message on Facebook, "After 8 wonderful and crazy years, we’re retiring. Join us for a week of specials and an opportunity to purchase the amazing memorabilia of the bar! Our last day is Friday, May 11!"

Blue Frog's Local 22 also posted a photo that said, "Come see us before we close. After 30 years of slinging burgers & beers, Mimi is retiring!"

The Yelp reviews of Blue Frog's Local 22 were pretty positive averaging a 4 out of five stars, but it seems like the most recent ones were more negative.

In May of 2015, Blue Frog's Local 22 complained about scaffolding in front of their bar that prevented them from opening their patio and caused them to lose money.  They said they were in danger of closing and filed a lawsuit, which you can read here.  The scaffolding came down around July of 2015 and they remained open until now.

Blue Frog's Local 22 has been marked as 'Closed' on the Bar Rescue Updates Page.

Bar Rescue's Blue Frog's Local 22 In Danger Of Closing Due To Scaffolding

Photo - Spike TV

Blue Frog's Local 22 in Chicago, Illinois, which was featured on the first season of Bar Rescue, has filed a lawsuit saying scaffolding outside of the entrance to their bar is killing their business.  The lawsuit is against the upstairs condominium owners who are having work done on the building's windows.

According to an article on DNAInfo, the bar said it is losing $5,000 to $7,000 per week due to the scaffolding, which is preventing the bar from opening its sidewalk patio.  That figure does not include the expected losses from the patio being closed during the summer months, which are the busiest.  In a CBS local article, co-owner John Reed said the work is impacting his business "to the tune of 200-something thousand dollars."

Owner John Reed was given short notice when work would begin, and he tried to get work to start on the other side of the building first so they could keep the patio open and it would have less impact on Blue Frog's summer business.  He tried to block the construction via a court order last month, but was denied.

The owner has said that sales have constantly been improving since being on Bar Rescue, and they were excited about this year.  Also, the recent Yelp reviews have been mostly positive.  Now, due to the scaffolding, all their reserve funds have been tapped and they have considered asking friends for money to stay open through the summer.

On the bar's Facebook page, they recently posted, "This is serious. Help us out if you can. We are doing everything we can to stay open but could use any support we can get. Stop by for a drink if you can, every little bit helps."

Owner John Reed was quoted in the DNAInfo article as saying, "We're gonna make payroll this week, and if we have a halfway decent next two weeks we'll be able to do payroll again.  We just want to get through this."


I will keep you updated with this situation if anything happens with the court case or if there is any change in status for the bar.


UPDATE - Blue Frog's Local 22 closed in May 2018, but it had nothing to do with the scaffolding.  More details on the closure.