G&L Fire Escape's New Owners Keep Old Theme, But Bring Positive Changes

When North Side couple John and Kate Leydon closed their deal to buy the G&L Fire Escape, they went to celebrate at the North Center bar.

Like most nights, it was packed with regulars, including one woman who got to talking with John. She was from the neighborhood, sent her kids to St. Benedict and still came back even after moving to the city.

"I have bad news," she said, unaware she was speaking to the new owner. "I heard the place sold. I just hope they don't change too much."

"That was meant to happen," John said. "That changed my whole thinking about keeping the name, keeping the legacy."

And so G&L Fire Escape name remains, and so does the abundance of firefighter memorabilia lining the walls. The regulars that give the place its blue-collar feel will still have a home, but John said there are some changes coming to make the bar more accessible for everyone.

“It’s an unpolished gem,” he said. “Our ambition is to make this place like town square. It wasn’t as inclusive before, it was exclusive, quite honestly. We want to provide something for everyone.”

I sat at the bar for about a half-hour before John came back to talk, and the regulars entertained each other with good bar banter, calling professional ping-pong players “clowns” and scoffing at bulb glasses, or anything besides a regular beer glass for that matter.

The bar was founded by three firefighters, and John said he wants to carry on that tradition. But he and his wife, who also run the Ruby Room Inn in Wicker Park, have already started making changes.

It wasn’t a place that seemed to have any sort of social media savvy, but since coming on the Leydons have shown they can reach a wider audience on Facebook. Just a couple of posts include asking fans to pitch ideas to upgrade the “Jurassic era bathrooms,” with a winning idea getting a free happy hour, and another that asked fans to name 12 things that had changed in the bar in exchange for a free shot.

The changes include an expanded selection of craft beers, many of which are local, as well as a wine program that didn’t exist before. The Leydons also want to add frozen pizzas and custom beef jerky selections, as well as a focus on coffee and pastries or morning visitors.

A focus on the community is key, as the Leydons will also install a gazebo out front where local groups and businesses can take the space to promote themselves. They’re also planning “Food Truck Fridays,” inviting area food trucks to camp outside the bar throughout the summer, and they also purchased an attached building they plan to turn into an ice cream parlor called Chookeys. which should open in spring 2014.  

“A lot of people have made lifelong friends here,” John said. “We really want to become a partner with our neighbors.”