Carol’s Pub, The Infamous North Side Country Bar, Closed Indefinitely

The siege on dive bars continues, as late-night country bar Carol’s Pub appears to be closed for the foreseeable future with many already penning obituaries for the unassuming 43-year-old beloved country dive bar. A Facebook post over the weekend announced the news, but ownership hasn’t clarified if the shutter is permanent. Uptown Update first noticed the announcement.

Carol’s is a time capsule, unaffected by the rise of craft beer, WiFi or flatscreen televisions. The bar served domestic bottled beers and whiskey shots while revelers crowded the dance floor after midnight to hear live country music until 5 a.m. on Sundays. Even in a blue state metropolis like Chicago, Carol’s allowed the staunchest country music skeptic a chance to dance to country covers like "Jolene" and "Ring of Fire." The house band, Diamondback, developed such a following that they regularly performed before Bulls games in the United Center’s atrium. Ownership hasn’t returned any requests for comment.

Carol’s closure would take away another low-cost option in Chicago, and juxtaposed by the timing—Chicago Gourmet took place over the weekend—only provides ammunition that Chicago is turning into a playground strictly for the wealthy. The bar opened in 1973, and Carol Harris has run the establishment since 1983. That’s when her husband, Ted, died. "Carol is really the only one who knows what's going on," the bar’s Facebook page read.

UPDATE: In addition, Carol's state liquor license has been revoked, according to state records. A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Revenue, which oversees liquor licenses, said that they cannot divulge anything further to why the license was revoked.