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Inside Blind Barber Chicago, Cutting Hair by Day, Mixing Cocktails at Night

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The New York import will soon arrive in Fulton Market

Blind Barber
Marc Much
Ashok Selvam is the editor of Eater Chicago and a native Chicagoan armed with more than two decades of award-winning journalism. Now covering the world of restaurants and food, his nut graphs are super nutty.

New York’s beloved Blind Barber — a hybrid barber shop by day and speakeasy/restaurant by night — opens in Chicago on Sept. 22 off Fulton Market. Below, behold the first photos of the Chicago space, a bit of a departure from the 1920s aesthetic featured in Manhattan. They’ve enlisted design house 555 International to give the Chicago space, 948 W. Fulton Market, some local flair.

They’ve opted for a rec room vibe, but music will liven the vibe up at night. Customers will find burnt-orange leather sofas, and knotty pine walls. Fulton Market was once home to the center of Chicago’s meatpacking industry, and the space uses glass block windows as a nod to the area’s history. The bar space takes up 2,400 square feet and the barber shop takes up 800 square feet. They’ll serve 20 different grilled cheese sandwiches, plus tacos, and salads. The restaurant is accessed through a discreet rear door.

Take a look at the space below.

It looks like a normal waiting room.
Pull up a chair.
Another shot of the barber shop.
Instead of a 1920s vibe, the Chicago version feels more like a rec room.
Check out the burned orange couch.
The space has a lounge area.
The main bar.
Many millennials have never seen a cigarette vending machine.
A few more stools give this space a vintage 70s/80s feel.
The “Strawberry Fields” (vodka, lemon juice, honey, strawberries, parsley)
“Your Best Guess” (mezcal, Damrak, Dolin Blanc, Becherovka, black tea bitters
The tap list features some local flair.
It’s just a mild-mannered barber shop by day.