3641 N. Halsted Street • Chicago, IL • 773.325.2233

NIGHTLIFE REVIEW

Retrosexual

A midcentury-modern aesthetic inspires a Halsted Street makeover.

By Jason A. Heidemann

MOD MEN Rehab gets a vintage nip/tuck.

You punch out at your high-stress corporate job in the Loop. You need to unwind quick, so you hail a cab: “Halsted and Addison,” you say. Walking past Circuit Night Club, you spot a new lounge called Rehab. You stamp out your cigarette, saddle up at the bar, order a martini and loosen your tie. Suddenly, a tap on your shoulder. Someone from your past throws a cocktail in your face, then strolls away.

Such is the vintage fantasy that Rehab (3651 N Halsted St, 773-325-2233, circuitnightclub.com), a recently reopened retro cocktail café, inspires—sort of. “It’s Mad Men meets Boystown,” says designer Jeff Sobon. “[But] it’s not a literal interpretation of the ’60s. It’s a little more whimsical, more fun and energetic.”

Rehab is a redux: It first opened in 1999 as a sibling to Circuit. Accessible via Circuit’s front door (and sans its cover), Rehab served, in part, as a lounge for fatigued clubgoers seeking respite from Circuit’s megawatt noise levels and nonstop high-energy vibe. On Mondays, disco bingo was especially popular; on weekends, the nightspot offered a low-key alternative to the stand-and-model parade at bars like Roscoe’s and Sidetrack.

In 2004, Circuit shuttered its doors for six months for renovations. When it reopened in 2005, with new soundproofing and lighting, Rehab remained closed. “We made a decision to put all of our energy into the main club and it came out wonderfully, so Rehab has been in this holding pattern,” manager Brian Covey says. “A lot of bars on the street, [like] Sidetrack, minibar and Scarlet, have all these new, fresh rooms. For us to stay relevant, we said, ‘You know what? The time is right for us to open Rehab and throw our chips on the table.’”

At Rehab 2.0, only a few things remain the same. It still stays open late (closing at 4am Sunday through Friday and 5am Saturday), and it still operates as both a neighborhood hangout and a de facto lounge for Circuit patrons. On a recent Thursday, Rehab was crawling with Latino men and women, a spillover no doubt from La Noche Loca, Circuit’s long-running Latin night.

Almost everything else has changed. The bar has been moved from the south wall to the north side of the room. A new in-the-works menu will offer hungry Halsteders late-night bites (hallelujah). Disco bingo has bit the dust, and in its place is Saturday’s new Wiggin’ Out, a drag-queen contest emceed by ubiquitous B-town personality Miss Foozie (January 30’s opening was packed).

But the biggest attention-grabbing shake-up is the retro-futuristic decor. Rehab’s old red, gold and purple palette (also designed by Sabon) has been replaced with overlapping dark wood and white panels punctuated by groovy circle- and oval-shaped portholes that evoke vintage Palm Springs. Hints of minty green abound both behind the bar and on the east wall, where midcentury-style room dividers allow flexibility. The eggshell-shaped chairs and the bar, a series of overlapping oval monstrosities, suggest a taproom suited to the Jetsons. Yet transparent tabletops on giant, glowing bases that change colors (conspicuously rainbow-hued), along with a handful of obligatory flat-screen TVs blasting the latest Lady Gaga, remind us that Rehab has its eye fixed firmly on the future.