A Glaring New Sports Bar Debuts Today Between McCormick Place and Soldier Field

The second location of Fatpour Tap Works opens today near McCormick Place with lots of TVs and beer for convention goers and Bears fans. It’s a two-floor space with a 210-inch Panasonic video wall that can either be a giant image or could be divided into nine screens. There are 12 more TVs to create a sports-watching paradise, and owner Erik Baylis said Fatpour is the bar that’s more convenient to Soldier Field.

The bar’s located at the corner of Cermak and Indiana at 2206 S. Indiana Avenue. Other bars, Scout and Kroll’s, may be closer, but pedestrians will have to walk the windy path to get to the stadium. It’s easier at Fatpour.

“People can just come down have a beer, and take an Uber,” Baylis said.

Fatpour Tap Works [Official Photo]

The second floor includes a dining room that could be reserved for private events. The bar has 26 beers on tap and about 100 in bottles and cans. Next season, Baylis hopes they could close off Indiana on Bears gamedays so customers could tailgate.

Fatpour excels as a neighborhood party spot in Wicker Park, Baylis added. The Division Street location is part of the group of sports bars that transformed the neighborhood, bringing more sports fans into the fold in an area once filled with bars holding more of an indy rock vibe. The Wicker Park bar opened in 2012.

The new location has an expanded food menu with new items like orange chicken plus standbys like chicken wings, tacos, and burgers. When weekend brunch kicks off, they’ll serve the same menu as Brunch, Baylis’s River North restaurant. They’ve also got a wood-burning oven for pizzas. It’s a step up in appearance and menu, Baylis added.

Fatpour [Official Photo]

Fatpour is part of the Big Onion Tavern Group that includes Irish Oak in Wrigleyville, Hopsmith in the Gold Coast, and Derby in Lincoln Park. Fatpour McCormick opens today.

Fatpour Tap Works, 2206 S. Indiana Avenue, opening hours will fluctuate; open at 8 a.m. for Bears game days on Sundays.