Popular German Beer Hall The Radler Will Stay Open in Logan Square — For Now

Logan Square’s popular German beer hall has new life — at least for now. Less than three weeks ago the Radler owner Adam Hebert announced his five-year-old bar and restaurant would shutter on February 24 but now he’s reversing course due to flocking crowds and the popularity of a German bar game involving a tree stump, a hammer, and nails.

“The end date for the Radler is open ended at this point but we have at least another month in the space,” Hebert says. “Thanks to the support of the community we have been granted a second chance.”

The support of the community was evident on Saturday night as customers packed the place. Many of them were in the back room to play a variation of the game where players attempt to hammer opponents’ nails into tree stumps, the most famous version of which is named Hammerschlagen. Lines formed to play while Hebert served canned beer from ice-filled tubs.

Hebert — who has tried a few ideas to utilize the back room including a fine-dining restaurant-within-a-restaurant that never fully got off the ground and a fast-casual doner kebab spot — may have found a winner with this game that’s very uncommon in Chicago. He is tweaking details on his version of it, which he is calling Stump Club, and has started a preliminary website for it.

Hebert is also still working on details of the Radler’s operations going forward. He says he and his team are “going to take a couple days to chat and formulate a plan” before reopening the Radler for its normal hours starting Wednesday. How long it stays open is unclear for now: “It just depends on how things go,” he says.

What is clear is that fans can still visit the Radler starting Wednesday. Stay tuned for updates.