Division Ale House

Photo: Andrew Nawrocki

PROUD TO BE IRISHISH Baris Yuksel is Turkish. His restaurant in Wicker Park, People Lounge, is Spanish. And his new bar, Division Ale House, slated to open Friday 24, is Irish. “I don’t like to repeat the same things over and over,” he explains. But even though he hasn’t dabbled in Irish concepts before, he’s quick to point out that Division is not a “fake Irish pub.” The chefs are Irish, some of the design elements are Irish—even the contractors who built the place are Irish. “When you walk in here, you’ll feel like you’re in a place that has been around for 60 years,” he says. “It doesn’t look like the fad of the month.” That is, it doesn’t as long as you don’t order from one of the pub’s table-side beer taps. And even then, Yuksel contends that’s not a fad—it’s just “a new popular trend.” 1942 W Division St, 773-384-6886.

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