Tune-Up, a new late-night bar from the team behind Estelle’s and The Owl, has quietly rolled into Avondale this week on Belmont Avenue, trading oil changes for Old Fashioneds in a former auto shop that sat empty for years. The space clocks in at roughly 3,500 square feet indoors, centered on a 42-seat U-shaped bar, with a 1,200-square-foot back patio waiting behind the building. Instead of a full kitchen, owners plan to lean on food pop-ups and a rotating slate of events, including bingo, DJs, trivia, and live bands.
From Garage To Late-Night Spot
Cook County property records show the team behind Tune-Up bought the former Tepco Tune-Up building in 2019, according to a property profile on ChicagoCityscape. Commercial listings put the structure at roughly 3,900 square feet on a 0.72-acre lot, per LoopNet. The auto shop that occupied the site dates back decades, with local business listings noting that Tepco opened in the 1970s.
Garage-Cool Design
The owners leaned hard into the building’s mechanic past. Original industrial light fixtures now hang over drinks instead of engines, vintage wood dollies sit in as decor, and an Oldsmobile Cutlass side panel has been worked into the design as a kind of gearhead centerpiece. "We wanted to keep the vibe of the garage and pay homage to the building’s history," managing partner David Halpern told Block Club Chicago. The main room is anchored by the 42-seat U-shaped bar and opens out to the 1,200-square-foot patio tucked behind the building.
Drinks, Events And Late-Night Hours
As reported by Block Club Chicago, Tune-Up will pour draft beers along with bottles and cans, stock nonalcoholic options and carry THC seltzer brands. An 11-drink seasonal cocktail list includes a phony negroni for anyone who wants the bitter, fancy-drink experience without the booze. The bar will run a half-price happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, then keep hours familiar to fans of the group’s other spots, closing at 4 a.m. Sunday through Friday and 5 a.m. on Saturdays. Programming is set to spotlight neighborhood pop-ups and late-night music instead of a full-service kitchen.
Neighborhood Fit
Food will be limited to packaged snacks and items from local purveyors such as A Beautiful Rind, which lists its Logan Square address on its site. For context, Four Entertainment Group has operated neighborhood taverns across Chicago for years, including Estelle’s and The Owl, and has expanded its portfolio beyond the city in recent years. Beautiful Rind lists its location and hours, and historic coverage of Estelle’s outlines Four Entertainment Group’s local footprint.
