{"id":13348,"date":"2025-02-12T08:02:24","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T14:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/?p=13348"},"modified":"2025-02-12T08:02:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T14:02:24","slug":"the-staley-wants-to-be-your-new-favorite-watering-hole-in-the-south-loop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/2025\/02\/12\/the-staley-wants-to-be-your-new-favorite-watering-hole-in-the-south-loop\/","title":{"rendered":"The Staley Wants To Be Your New Favorite Watering Hole in the South Loop"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Staley Wants To Be Your New Favorite Watering Hole In The South Loop<\/strong><\/p>\n

A New Sports Bar Concept from Former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije<\/strong><\/p>\n

SOUTH LOOP \u2014 For Israel Idonije, the South Loop is the kind of neighborhood that deserves nice things. It\u2019s also ripe for another sports bar and restaurant, which is why the former Chicago Bear and his team opened The Staley there last month.<\/p>\n

The Staley, 1736 S. Michigan Ave., took over the storefront formerly occupied by Kroll\u2019s, another beloved sports bar. Idonije had planned a fall opening but didn\u2019t anticipate all the road bumps he\u2019d encounter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I was just a little too ambitious. I assumed with 90 days of nonstop work we would get there. But things were taking longer than they needed to. The freezer blew out and stuff just started happening, so you just got to fix it and pivot,\u201d Idonije said.<\/p>\n

The Staley is named for businessman A.E. \u201cGene\u201d Staley, who founded the Chicago Bears over a century ago, and it\u2019s located less than a mile from Soldier Field.<\/p>\n

A Space for Bears Fans and Locals Alike<\/h3>\n

Being attuned to the desires of South Loopers, Idonije knew his neighbors wanted a chill, family-friendly neighborhood spot that was more accessible than the Signature Bar, The Staley\u2019s more upscale counterpart at 1312 S. Wabash Ave.<\/p>\n

Giving Bears fans a space to root for the home team was equally important, Idonije said. Kroll\u2019s had been a well-known haunt for Packers fans.<\/p>\n

That said, you won\u2019t find a gazillion jerseys hanging from the walls or sawdust on the floors at Staley\u2019s. Instead, patrons are greeted by muted bluish-green walls; a long, sleek bar with chocolate leather chairs; a trio of flatscreens on one side and a pair of projector screens on the other; and a full view of a mural featuring the 1920 Decatur Staleys football team. There\u2019s also a game room with a foosball table.<\/p>\n

Design Touches<\/h3>\n

A guy on their team, Nathan Michael, does most of their design. Idonije generally has a pretty good sense of what he wants something to feel like experientially. Having him come in and memorialize the relationships between him and legacy Bears players over the years … was great, said Idonije, describing an art display featuring names of players and other people important to Chicago Bears history.<\/p>\n

A framed sketch of an old-school Cubs player adorning a wall near the bar was another design touch from Michael, who found it at a swap meet in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Food and Drink<\/h3>\n

Idonije teamed up with chef Stephen Gillanders on the food menu. In addition to running S.K.Y, Apolonia and Vahalla restaurants, Gillanders is head chef and partner at Signature.<\/p>\n

The hush puppies ($8.99) and giant mozzarella sticks ($14.99) have fast become customer favorites, Idonije said. Poutine ($11.99) is a nod to Idonije\u2019s home country of Canada, but it\u2019s not a traditional version, he said.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

The Staley is open from 3-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 3-11 p.m. Fridays, noon-11 p.m. Saturdays, and noon-10 p.m. Sundays.<\/p>\n

FAQs<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • What is The Staley?
    \nThe Staley is a new sports bar concept from former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije, located in the South Loop.<\/li>\n
  • What kind of food and drink can I expect?
    \nThe Staley offers a menu of American classics, including hush puppies, giant mozzarella sticks, poutine, and more. They also have a selection of beers on tap.<\/li>\n
  • Is there a game room?
    \nYes, The Staley has a game room with a foosball table.<\/li>\n
  • Are there any special events or programs planned?
    \nYes, The Staley is planning to add programs such as trivia night and a version of the Queen of Hearts raffle in the coming months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Staley Wants To Be Your New Favorite Watering Hole In The South Loop A New Sports Bar Concept from Former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije SOUTH LOOP \u2014 For Israel Idonije, the South Loop is the kind of neighborhood that deserves nice things. It\u2019s also ripe for another sports bar and restaurant, which is why […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13348","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dining"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IsraelStaley.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1248&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13350,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13348\/revisions\/13350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}