Brewpub Announcement

Almost 15 years ago, we threw open the doors of our Milwaukee Avenue brewpub and launched Revolution Brewing to the world. The brewpub is where the first Revolution beers were served and where we first brewed beers like Anti-Hero IPA which would change the shape of craft beer in Chicagoland. Today that chapter of our story starts to wind down as we announce that we are permanently closing the doors of the Logan Square brewpub, with our last day of service on December 14th. Sharing this news brings knots to our bellies and tears to our eyes, but we know that 15 years is also a good run for a restaurant and we are thankful for all the great moments along the way.

Starting on day one in early 2010, a community formed at the brewpub around great food and exceptionally crafted beers and we are forever grateful for the support we received from so many of you. Those were exuberant days, with creative new beers coming out almost weekly to the delight of our mug club ‘members of the party’ who crowded along our curved wooden bar. At the end of year one, our event space opened and it has been our honor to host hundreds of lovely weddings and important fundraisers upstairs. We will never forget those wild Oktoberfest weekends partying in the street with some of our favorite bands, so many pretzels and a thunderstorm or two.

You could count the number of other breweries in the city on one hand back in the day. Our experience definitely inspired others to take their shot and now there are close to a hundred different places brewing beer in the city. Our business slowed as that massive wave of craft beer growth naturally crested a few years ago, but it was really the pandemic that dealt the biggest blow to our brewpub operations. The pub never came close to recovering the energy and customer traffic from its heyday, and worsening operating losses the last few years gives us no choice but to wind down our business at this location. In the new year, we expect to put the building up for sale and hope a new owner and concept will bring more joy to the neighborhood. Logan Square has grown and changed tremendously since we opened and we have to salute all the other small businesses who keep it a unique place to live, work and play.

Many of the faces changed over the years, but our pub staff’s dedication to their collective work was always strong, especially when times were tough during the pandemic. It pains us to have to say goodbye to so many hard-working members of our crew, but we know the experience and friendships we all share will last a lifetime. We are helping our team deal with the burden of this closure on their lives with severance packages and extended benefits, and we sincerely wish them the best as they take on their next challenge.

Our Kedzie Avenue production brewery and tap room opened just two years after the pub and that’s where our business thrives now and where we will remain fully operational and open to the public. We’re making investments at that location to retain jobs, increase our sustainability and keep our overall business strong, even in the face of increased competition for craft brewers.

The brewpub will be open five more weeks for you to get all nostalgic over some cheese curds, smash burgers and frothy pints. We hope to see some familiar faces come raise a glass to a 15-year run on Milwaukee Avenue. Our deepest thanks to everyone who stopped in over the years, it was a pleasure to serve you.