Nate Hilding, Chris Bisaillon, Angela Zoiss | Old Town Pour House
Since opening in 2012, Old Town Pour House has established itself as Chicago's preeminent beer bar. Its selection consists of 90 craft beers on tap, more than 30 of which are from local breweries. As Angela Zoiss, chief marketing officer for Bottleneck Management, puts it, "We're beer geeks, not beer snobs."
Bottleneck—including two co-owners, Nate Hilding and Chris Bisaillon, who met in second grade—have built Old Town Pour House into more than just a place to grab a pint. The chef-driven food menu offers innovative, elevated takes on bar classics and its "Rock N' Roll Weekend Brunch" features dishes named after classic rock songs and artists. The many giant HDTV screens and A/V wall make it one of the best places in the city to watch sports and other big events, and there are also private party rooms and a semi-private party space.
Zoiss, who has been with Bottleneck since before Old Town Pour House opened, understands what makes it so special. She gives all the credit to the front-of- and back-of-house teams for ensuring that guests feel like they're more at a party in someone's home than at a bar. That approach is clearly working: Bottleneck has opened two Old Town Pour Houses in the suburbs (Oak Brook and Naperville) and a third in Gaithersburg, Md.