Crossing the threshold of Broken Hearts on a frigid Thursday night after taking a proverbial lickin’ at work, I felt my shoulders drop a few inches instantly. Despite its sprawling size and newness, the red-lit bar with exposed brick walls feels comfortable and lived in, in the vein of the city’s finest alt-country and punk rock taverns.
Then again, Heisler Hospitality (Sportsman’s Club, Lone Wolf, Queen Mary) knows its way around this decidedly Midwestern brand of bar. Broken Hearts is a smart remake of the flashier Nights & Weekends, which struggled to fill seats on weeknights. The clubby vibes also didn’t suit Heisler, as its director of operations Jeff Donahue told Eater. Better to let Chicago’s own late country-folk legend John Prine, whose song “Souvenirs” inspired the bar’s name, guide the way. (A well-placed disco ball nods to Broken Hearts’ forerunner.)
Indeed, this quiet, still vaguely industrial stretch of the West Loop beneath the rumbling “L” seemed to want for a regular bar—the kind of place that doesn’t punch customers in the face with a “concept” like so many bars do these days through a glut of twee neons and “living” walls of climbing plastic plants, while sports flash on a dozen oversized flatscreens. Sometimes you just need to scooch a barstool up to a mile-long wood bar and get lost in conversation over a cold Budweiser or an herbaceous, bittersweet draft Amaro Daiquiri with Meletti and rum (this is the West Loop, after all). To that end, there’s also a sultry Mezcal Negroni with rich Carpano Antica and Campari and a few fun frozen concoctions (Blue Hawaii with two rums, and a Jack and Coke). Watch out for that small but mighty bourbon Old Fashioned; it’ll put hair on your chest.
You might shoot a round of pool if the mood strikes, or simply because it’s free every night between Sunday and Wednesday. Maybe you’d rather croon your troubles, dreams or regrets into a mic on Thursday karaoke night hosted by Jonathan Kahler (@jk_srsly). Broken Hearts hopes to make live music a fixture here, refreshingly sans tickets or cover charges. Musical acts like country singer Lawrence Peterson; honky-tonk DJs Stoned at the Jukebox; and folksy, bluesy Olivia and the Lovers have already come through.
I didn’t stay for karaoke on that particular Thursday. If I had, I might have belted out “When I Get to Heaven,” vodka and ginger ale in hand, hoping that Prine hasn’t gotten all the way through his nine-mile-long cigarette while he plays in a rock-n-roll band up in heaven.
The drink: Classic, spirit-forward cocktails are made to order (Mezcal Negroni, Gimlet with gin or vodka, frothy Clover Club) batched and on draft (Margarita, Diablo, Amaro Daiquiri) and frozen (Jack and Coke, Blue Hawaii, Strawberry Marg). No-brainer packaged and draft beers include Budweiser, Old Style, Bell’s Two Hearted and Zombie Dust.
The vibe: A regular bar for easy good times, expertly mixed cocktails, pool, karaoke and live music without a cover.
Time Out tip: Every Sunday DJ Amber presides over Pink Pony “Brunch” from 5-9pm, which features femme and queer country.