Red Square Cafe Lounge, Former Division Bath House, Opening Mid-January

It's been three years since Chicago landmark Division Bath House closed. It's now about a month until the concept replacing it, Red Square Cafe Lounge, opens, says owner Alex Loyfman. Division Bath House was the oldest and only bath house in Chicago, opening in 1906, a haunting for all types of notable Chicagoans from Al Capone to Jesse Jackson.

The new space will feature a 3,500 square foot restaurant and bar, a radical idea for a bath house. The food will feature Russian small plates with an American twist, a good idea considering the abundance of heat, steam, and nearly naked people inside. "We don't want to stuff you," Loyfman says. The bar will feature specialty cocktails and beer.

The three-story space on 1914 W. Division will keep the same facade and similar layout to its historic predecessor, but modern equipment, amenities, and services. Traditional 190 degree saunas, steam rooms, and cold baths fill the 6,000 square foot bath house. The salon is large too, 3,000 square feet, offering facials, massages, mani-pedis, and tanning. A bed and breakfast will overlook Division from the second floor. "You could spend all day here," Loyfman says.

The soft opening is later this month, maybe Al Capone's ghost will receive an invite.
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