Checking Out Soccer House, Chicago's "Soccer-Exclusive" Bar

Given Chicago’s long history with the beautiful game, as the original home of the U.S. Soccer Federation and with a history of U.S. Open Cup finalists dating back more than a century, and the city’s much longer history with drinking, once boasting one saloon for every 239 residents, the city is no stranger to soccer bars. 

From fans of the six five Premier League teams (sorry, West Ham) that have made The Globe their official place to get a cocktail in Chicago to Gooners grabbing a bottle at The Globe to fans gathering at Cleos for wings and international games, there are plenty of options around town for soccer fans to gather – many more if you include bars that are happy – or at least willing – to put on the occasional game if asked. Despite the array of locations identifying themselves, to various degrees, as soccer bars, however, none in the city were fully dedicated to the sport – until now. 

When Soccer House opened at 501 N Ogden Avenue in West Town (the former Twisted Spoke location, for those who remember the biker-and-brunch bar), it became Chicago’s first bar dedicated to the sport.

To drive the point home, a FAQ on Soccer House’s website says “There will be no exceptions” to the “soccer-exclusive” rule, “and no ‘just put the basketball game on for a second.’ This ain’t the place where the TVs switch to whatever sport is trending that night.”

To learn more about the bar, MIR97 Media went to Soccer House to catch the Fire face CF Montréal (and Stars, who played just after) and spoke to Garret Drexler, the owner of Soccer House about what drove him to open one of the only soccer-exclusive bars in the country.

Soccer House retains the curved bar from Twisted Spoke, and will look familiar to anyone that visited the longtime West Town institution. Behind the scenes, however, Drexler says that the changes have been more substantial, quipping that although the bones are the same, the flesh of the previous bar had to be replaced after a 30-year run at the location.

Idea to “Open A Bar That’s Pure Soccer”

Soccer House is Drexler’s first bar, but far from his first exposure to the sport. “I was working at a PR firm in 2010 in New York and I watched every game of the [2010] World Cup from my desk,” he said, “and I thought, man, it’d be better to work in soccer than in this PR firm that I did not love so much.” Soon, “just trying to find a spot working in the game,” he found a role in the predecessor of PRO, the referee organization that was originally a joint program between the U.S. Soccer Federation and MLS.

Soon, he found a role at the Federation itself, bringing him to Chicago, handling marketing and fan services at the national level. That work exposed him to America’s soccer bars. “One part of what I did at US Soccer,” Drexler said,  “was run our bar program nationally… but over time, I saw that there’s an opportunity to do things differently than how other soccer bars have done it.”

After leaving the federation for consulting roles, including working with the Fire and other teams, “I just had this idea about how to open a soccer bar that’s pure soccer.” With the World Cup, “it was never going to be a better time to do it than now.” 

Drexler cited historical precedent: “What we saw in ‘94 [the first U.S.-hosted World Cup] was the game grew tremendously, and I think that the expectation is that it will grow tremendously again, despite FIFA’s best efforts.”

“The Best Way to Watch Together” is “The Big Screen”

Now, the bar has soft globe lights and the wall of whiskeys lined the bar to the ceiling in Twisted Spoke are gone, with wood panelling in its place. With natural light filtering in during a spring Chicago afternoon, Soccer House could have passed as a coffee bar.

Two things amplified the effect. The first was the coffee menu visible to the left when you enter, with a high-end Rancilio Invicta espresso machine adjacent. Drexler says that he’s proud of Soccer House’s coffee program, with the bar opening at 6 AM on Saturdays and 8 AM on Sundays to feature early European matches.

The second, though, was the relative quiet between matches – and the lack of the crowd. That wasn’t because there weren’t people there: Instead, it’s because it was finally truly a warm afternoon on a day featuring Fire and Stars soccer, and, in true Chicago fashion, everyone wanted to be outside.

Soccer House preserves the overall shape and footprint of Twisted Spoke’s rooftop patio, but changes the focus. While before, there were a variety of table under patio umbrellas, now, there’s a singular focus: A large screen positioned at the east end of the space.

Gone are the round tables from the Twisted Spoke days, replaced with picnic-style benches that allow everyone easy views of the screen. And that is screen ‒ singular. Sports bars may have traditionally bragged in marketing copy about the number of screens they could cram into the space, but the rooftop, the space that by far is able to accommodate the biggest crowds in the venue, has just one. 

“Having the roof with the big screen comes out of the idea that the best way to watch together is not to have, like, a thousand TVs on the wall with different things on, but one thing that everybody is focusing on. That’s sort of the classic outdoor, summer festivals, big screen, and sort of scaled down to a size that we can have every weekend,” Drexler said, recalling the crowds that went to public viewing parties to watch the USMNT’s run in 2014, the last time the squad participated in a World Cup in the summer.

Along with the rooftop and main bar area, there is also a lounge space – the one part of the bar that accepts reservations. Each can show a separate game. “We’re set up in a way that we can show multiple games with sounds on, and you can’t tell between the three spaces that they’re watching a different thing until somebody scores and everyone starts cheering.” 

There are obviously more than three games happening at a time, however. What happens when someone walks in requesting a game that’s not on the schedule? “One thing that we’ve tried to be really, really clear about,” Drexler said, “is what we will be showing,” with a list of games posted to the venue’s website and social media.

Still, they’ll try to be accommodating. “We’ve got a good knowledge of the game and what people are going to want to see, but it’s not a perfect amount. So we have the ability to be flexible for things that come up, which I think is important … and we’ve got the capability to show just about everything available.” Paradoxically, Drexler noted that although large crowds are expected for the World Cup, it will be one time when deciding which game to show won’t be an issue.

Soccer House only accepts reservations for the lounge area. “The majority of the place is going to be walk-in,” Drexler said. “We didn’t want to take reservations for the roof, and then it rains, and then we feel like we can’t accommodate you. That’s not a great experience and we want to make sure we’re delivering a really good soccer watching experience.” 

In addition to the three spaces set up for watching, there’s a retail area that has both Soccer House logo merch as well as a collection of vintage and contemporary soccer gear, much of which was, to say the least, more than fairly priced at the time of this reporter’s visit.

A Menu That Reflects “the Cultures that Make Up Soccer”

The emphasis on the communal experience – sound on for games on the screen – continues through to the menu, which is largely focused on shareable plates. Standard pub fare is covered, from wings to fries, but with influences that intentionally mirror global soccer culture: The appetizers are listed as “scran,” and the pretzel is served with “beer cheese, mustard, and the ability to pronounce Ggegenpressing.” 

There’s other soccer references throughout the menu: The loaded fries are listed as “Gold Cup Fries,” and there’s a separate halftime section of the menu with one item: Orange wedges, served “with Tajin and somebody’s mom yelling at you to get back on the field.” And to answer the question that Fire fans have: yes, ice cream nachos are on the menu.

In addition to sharable plates, there’s also a burger, a couple of sandwiches and salads, as well as some less conventional pub fare like ceviche and ramen noodles – the latter labeled as “Estadio Sopa.”  Overall, the menu is supposed to “reflect the game itself and the cultures that make up soccer…. With South American, European, American and Mexican influences that I think really reflects the sport.” 

On Drexler’s advice, though, I had the burger – and it was a good bar burger, and despite being full halfway through, I couldn’t stop eating it (that may partly be a statement about this reporter). Just as importantly, the food came out quickly, despite a packed house upstairs. That’s another way that Soccer House was built around soccer. 

“You know over the course of 90 minutes in a game, you’ve got a big rush in at the beginning, and a big rush at halftime, and to make sure that we can deliver is important, it’s everything.”

That extends to the drink menu, which includes four draft cocktails. “One of our best sellers is what we call a Watermelon Soccerade ‒ it’s watermelon with Gray Goose vodka. It’s one of those things, it’s just really refreshing,” which this reporter can confirm, having been offered a tasting of the draft cocktail. It was light, refreshing, with enough taste and complexity to be interesting but which seemed highly quaffable ‒ there was no palatable sting from the alcohol. 

These could be very, very dangerous to World Cup crowds, particularly if summer heat fully emerges in Chicago. The soccerade is accompanied by other soccer-themed cocktails on draft (one called the Hand of God, which, no notes), a full list of classic cocktails made to order, three wines, and non-alcoholic options, including canned virgin and THC cocktails.

“In terms of the beer,” Drexler said, drafts include what he called “heavy hitters” - “Modelo, Old Style, Michelob Ultra, and Guinness,” as well as a variety of local beers from a variety of international styles, from IPAs to a Hefeweisen to a Vienna Lager.

Soccer House may be far from the first soccer bar in Chicago, but between the layout, menu and soccer-exclusive focus, it may first one that makes it feel like the sport truly has a home.