one year of babe’s

March 13, 2024 is the date that Torra and I officially filed “Babe’s Sports Bar, LLC” with the IL Secretary of State. We’d of course been working on the idea of Babe’s and doing research on what it would take to actually open this bar for months leading up to that day, but I really see this filing anniversary (sexy) as our Official Business Birthday. It’s wild how a year can simultaneously feel so short and so long - so many things have fallen into place and felt like they were moving effortlessly, and yet I’m still having to remind myself to take deep breaths when I think about the work (and time) standing between us and opening day. That work is really exciting though!! We’re at the stage where we’re choosing upholstery for the barstools and which bathroom tiles we want (I told the designers I plan to get the pattern from our final choice tattooed on me, I love it so much), The vibe is "vintage women's sports bar from the future" and we’re doing very scientific (not joking) sightline mapping to make sure everyone has a good TV view. And the bathrooms have disco balls, duhhhh. I’ll show you a few tiny screenshots from recent design and schematic meetings with Siren Betty, but we want to keep an air of mystery and also I want you to be as wowed as possible the first time you see it IRL:

We’ve also been testing out potential signature cocktail recipes. We’re going to be handing out samples at the bar when people are dropping off their memorabilia to do some (delicious) market research. As if you needed any more incentive to submit your artifacts!! I asked everyone to share the story of the memorabilia they submitted and there have been many submissions of “here I am as the only girl on my team.” As one of the only girls on a boy’s soccer team in high school it feels very powerful to make a space where those histories are celebrated! Also as a Cancer, looking at pictures of people’s childhood is a real treat. As is reliving the 90’s hairstyles. Some of the recent amazing memorabilia submissions:

other updates

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other updates 〰️

🏀 BFF BEER PARTY // MARCH MADNESS WOMEN’S SPORTS BAR COLLECTIVE COMP 🍻

We’re having a party on Wednesday, March 19th at Life on Marz Community Club to get together and drink our BFF Beer, a hibiscus pale ale designed by our Bar Manager, Margaux, and brewed in collaboration with Marz Brewing. Tickets are free but grab one so we have a headcount and you have a calendar invite!

We’ll also be filling out brackets for March Madness at the party - even if you can’t make it in person, join our March Madness Pool! We’ve made a pool for a bunch of the women’s sports bars in the country, and there will be special prizes for weekly winners! Make sure your bracket includes “Babe’s” in the name!

🛠️ DEMOLITION COMING UP SOON // RENOVATION NEXT // OPENING UPDATES 📆

We’re beginning our renovation in the next few weeks, so everyone who emailed saying they can support with demolition, THANK YOU! It’s finally time to start planning that, expect an email in the next week or so. The idea of swinging a sledgehammer sounds really cathartic in this political hellscape.

Our official liquor license likely won’t happen until late May or early June, after we pass the inspections (we’ve finally finished the required paperwork, it really is a filing anniversary miracle!). We’re anticipating running some soft opens/private events to get people in the space and work out our systems while we wait for the official stamp of approval to come through. It feels illegal to have access to our patio and not have it used when it’s sunny in Chicago.

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There’s so much I could say about the last year of Babe’s, but honestly I feel like I’m too in it to be reflective, and there’s so much I need to go work on (I have like 30 corduroy hats I have to pack into cute pink boxes with even cuter tissue paper/tape, I really take pride in Babe’s gear arriving looking cute, but wow is it time consuming!). The last year has been filled with learning so much (and being humbled by not knowing things), constantly hustling/scheming, and meeting so many good people who have helped push Babe’s closer to becoming a reality (not that it’s not yet a reality - there’s been really cool community building among the people who have come together and met through Babe’s). NOT TO BE CHEESY BUT it honestly feels like the one year anniversary of being really lucky to be working on this! Babe’s has changed the course of my life for the better just in this one baby year of being, and it really is just getting started.

If you’re in Chicago, I hope to see you at the party on Wednesday! And if you’re not, cheers from afar and start looking at flights for late May.

xoxoxo

Nora