Durkin’s is filmed before a live studio audience.
Well, OK — Sam Malone is not tending bar, but this Lincoln Park tavern rivals that Boston quintessential bar.
Donning a backwards baseball cap and frayed jeans, Durkin’s regular Neb Jovanovich shouts at the Philadelphia Eagles-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on the overhead television. Behind him his rowdy friends cluster around a small wooden table. These Durkin’s regulars sporadically break into song — Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” — and transform from blue-jeaned boozehounds into aspiring rockstars.
“This is your poster child for the great neighborhood bar,” Jovanovich said. “You don’t come here to party. It’s really the place for music, friends and booze.
“It’s everything I expect from a place where I want to hang out. It’s my own ‘Cheers.'”
Nestled among a string of Irish pubs lining the North Side’s streets, Durkin’s Tavern, 810 W. Diversey, is Jovanovich’s place for “booze and buddies.” Locals gravitate toward its yellow and black windsocks that flail in the chill Chicago air, signaling what the tavern is perhaps best known for: its Pittsburgh Steelers’ pride.
“When the Steelers score a touchdown, it is complete chaos in here,” said Melissa Brown, a part-time bartender at Durkin’s. “The fight song is blared over the speakers. It’s kind of cheesy like that, but there’s just so much energy in here because everyone is pushing for the same team.”
But the bar’s bustle is not relegated to Steelers-game days. The patrons, largely young North Side professionals, shed their business frocks to unwind over greasy cheeseburgers and giant French fries. And this weekend, for the biggest NFL game of the year, the tavern expects to fill to capacity with a crowd of 250 to 300 — despite the fact that the Steelers are not playing.
“When I come here with a group of friends, I get swept up in the crazy environment,” Mike Munoz, a Durkin’s frequenter, said. “Everyone is just having so much fun, it really becomes contagious.”
In fact, many of Durkin’s employees were drawn to the tavern for its fun-loving and energetic regulars.
“I wanted a night job where I would meet people and have fun,” part-time waitress Hilary Miller said. “Here, the customers are comfortable, not the classiest bunch but extremely down-to-earth.”
On Steelers game days, pandemonium characterizes the Durkin’s scene. Employees and patrons alike chant Steelers fight songs.
“It’s high energy, fast-paced, with people wobbling around drunk,” part-time bartender Melissa Brown said. “You can’t move, and you can’t hear — but no one here would have it any other way.”
Durkin’s abundance of football passion and decor is not limited, however, to the Steelers insignia. In fact, the Purdue Club of Chicago made Durkin’s an official Boilermakers’ haven four years ago.
Similar to the Boilermakers’ contingency, Steelers fanatics only recently made Durkin’s their official lair. Durkin’s bartender Tim Andrick moved his fellow Steelers fans to the bar about three years ago, manager Tom Flynn said.
“He worked here and knew how great this place was to work in, let alone to let loose in,” Flynn said. “So it just made sense to move the guys to a more fun place to cheer and go nuts each Sunday.”
But it was in 1933 that the pub’s founder, John Durkin, a Pittsburgh native and Purdue University alumnus, united his two passions in the bar. The tavern’s ownership has changed hands throughout the years, but Durkin’s traditions endure. Paraphernalia from both teams still adorn each of the bar’s wooden alcoves, with miniature helmets framing the extensive liquor collection.
“Of course the owners are not going to do anything to change this bar’s feel,” Munoz said. “It is a money-making opportunity. Even if the new owners are not Pittsburgh fans, that is a part of this bar’s personality that just can’t be messed with.”
This charming character unites the energy of a sports bar with the charm of a traditional Irish pub. The interior resembles that of a saloon in a classic Western film, particularly the wood-paneled nooks and the wood-burning fireplace. But the crackling of the fire logs only adds to the warm atmosphere; the pub seems to exude coziness.
“As I look around, I don’t know all these people’s names, but I have seen their faces for the past 15 weeks,” Munoz said.
This “Cheers”-esque scene breeds a close-knit environment. Not everyone necessarily knows your name, but casual smiles and simple “hellos” do not suffice, either. Hugs and pats on the back, rather, are the norm.
The pub’s charm reaches beyond the Steelers’ adorned walls. In fact, Durkin’s following extends throughout the Lincoln Park community.
“I was wearing my Durkin’s shirt while shopping on Milwaukee Avenue,” Brown said. “People actually stopped me on the street and recognized the name. This place has a huge following.”
Though not Boston, the North Side setting is part of the pub’s cache. Though nestled in chic-chic Lincoln Park, Durkin’s lacks pretension. Despite the abundance of flat screen televisions and high-end liquors, Durkin’s exudes rustic charm.
