Monday, August 16, 2010

Why is it Called Jimmy Greens?

From Metromix:
Jimmy Green’s
The place: A South Loop sports bar dedicated to Chicago teams and serving bar food and more than 50 beers.
So who's Jimmy? Jimmy Green’s was an old-time tavern on Taylor Street in Little Italy where a lot of locals used to hang out.
The history: “When a bunch of guys from Taylor Street are opening a place in the South Loop, what better name could we choose?” says co-owner Jeff Terrana.
Jimmy’s dish: Terrana thinks Jimmy, the owner of the now-gone Jimmy Green’s, likely was a man of simple tastes. “He’d probably order either a pizza and a beer, or a burger and a beer, or maybe an Italian beef sandwich, one of our specialties. And a beer.”

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

What, no wine with that burger?

variaas said...

I love this place! It's the perfect Saturday/Sunday afternoon lunch spot. Pizza, beer, and the game.

Anonymous said...

This just makes me sad to think that the name was based after an actual bar. This place is nothing more than an overpriced frat house. But who cares when the developers of the building opened a bar and have no incentive of making it original because they are their own landlord.

Anonymous said...

I stopped here one week night at the bar for dinner and a couple of beers. I had to give the bartender my Visa card before I got my beer/dinner and she held it until I left. Huh. Interesting practice. Felt like a criminal. Food was fine, service was so-so at best. Will I be back? Mmmm.... probably not. Thanks anyways.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 6:31PM - sounds like the bartender thought you wanted to run a tab?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 4:30PM - what does being your own landlord have to do with developing an original restaurant concept? While it may not meet your standards, it certainly seems that they've invested a lot of money in the look and feel of the place...

Anonymous said...

I stopped in here for the first time last Wednesday...and won't be back. The bar was about 1/2 full when I sat down, and when the bartender finally took my drink order I was very nice to her when I ordered my beer. When she came back to give me my change she practically threw the bills on to the bar and walked away in a hurry. No "thank you" or even a glance. Honey, it's not even a full bar, relax. The music sounded like stuff you would hear on B96, and I noticed on the weekends they have "DJ Luv Cheese." Are you kidding me? This place belongs in Lincoln Park for the trixies and frat boys. I couldn't even understand what they were going for with the interior decorations. The ceiling decorations were mismatched and gotta love the neon bar ropes.

MarkChicago said...

My one experience at Jimmy Greens was positive, went for a Blackhawks playoff game event. I am glad to see a fun, loud, modern spot open up in the Sloop with the abundance of small, sleepy restaurant-bars, which I also enjoy. Reminds me of a smaller version of District.

The only concerns I have are with the DJ's and Cage Fighting event nights. Questionable crowds.

Anonymous said...

This place will be around for a while, seems like a good spot to watch a game.....word on the street is it has very heavy ties to the "mob" and/or the owners are also owners of a bridgeport based construction company.

Anonymous said...

They charge for pop refills!!! Are you kidding me...

I won't go back.

Anonymous said...

Haven't been yet, but I like what I've seen of their decor and menu. One thing that might keep me away is their apparent pursuit of the "douchebag" crowd, which I have implied from their Facebook page updates involving DJ Luv Cheese and mixed martial arts.

I suppose it is a good thing to have bars catering to different niches (as opposed to them competing head-to-head with Flo & Santos, for example). Perhaps I'll pop in for a game during off-peak hours sometime.

Anonymous said...

I was very hopeful for a new bar and restaurant to open up and could not believe how overpriced and cheesy this bar is. The service is very rude and the place gives off a vibe that it should be a cheesy lounge in the suburbs. Hopefully, the prices can at least go down for beer so drinking in such a corny place will be worth it. This place is two seconds away from a strobe light and I have had cheaper priced beer at an airport.

p.s- it makes perfect sense this place would charge for refills on pop. Spend your money at another bar that actually cares about its customers

Anonymous said...

The original comment was most likely a marketing push by the owners. This place is beyond terrible - have no doubt about it.

If there is no dancing, the music should be at a volume were people can talk to each other. When I went, they played garbage metal music louder than you can imagine. We complained twice.. and left. All the waitresses had zero experience prior to opening this place (goes well with the management who has had zero experience in the restaurant business). I would rather have another empty building in the south loop.
Its a shame - I was excited about this place.

Anonymous said...

Just a little FYI for you people:
1.The owners are not their own lanlords.
2.They hold credit cards so people don't walk out on their bills. Not an uncommon practice.
3.The concept of the bar is %100 original. I've never been to a place like this and I hit a lot of places in my travels.
4.They don't charge for refills on pop. Maybe you were just rude.
5.The prices are equal to most of the places in the area. You want cheap beer? Feel free to hang out in the s#%t holes!! I'll take class over price.
6.DJ Luv Cheez is actually a really nice guy that got a bad rap because of that meatball mancow. You would know this if you gave people a chance!
7. UFC fights are a HUGE draw! One of the most popular sports around! I've been in there for all the fights and there has not been one problem!
8.They do care about their customers!! I'm in there at least 3-4 times a week and I'm always greeted with a smile by a nice hostess who seats me and my friends. Ed, the manager, always makes sure we enjoy our experience. And I always see Jeff, one of the owners, talking it up with all the other customers! Nice guys!!!

Finnaly I hope all of you will get your head out of the clouds. Maybe you should go in to new places with an open mind! Such a shame all the close mindedness...

Anonymous said...

It's such a shame to hear bitter people. I've been here over 10 times as I know someone who works there very well. They do not charge for refills on soda. The wait staff is still learning. I've been a waitress myself and no one can pick it up immediatly. Again are you so perfect?
About the beer prices, well I agree with the other comment. You want dive bar prices go there and eat deep fried crap along with it. Instead you get a huge beer menu and fresh tasty food. Then the taking of the credit card. You want to run a tab, you have to give a CC. Thats policy for every bar I've been to in the city.
Again I do know the staff. But I think that makes me more harsh as I know whats lacking. But in the short amount of time I am inpressed! And I will be back for more.

Anonymous said...

Hmm All the negativity. You'd think that with so few choices for an upscale sports bar in the south loop that people would be supportive. The decor is outstanding, TV's plentiful. I for one have always had a great meal (Hanger steak sandwich rocks or grilled calamari with buffalo sauce or thin crust pizza), always enjoyed sports from Hockey, World cup soccer, baseball, stopping in after concerts at Soldiers field. Such a huge selection of beers to cover every pocketbook. I mean really almost a 100 beers??? I go there twice a week and always have enjoyed myself and the employees/ managers have always been friendly. So what's up South Side??

Anonymous said...

If you haven't come in to check this place out you need to. It can be a little crowded on a a friday or saturday night but what good place isnt? The food is easily some of the best at any sports bar; personally I like the burger and the waffle fries. Plenty of beer variety, cute bar tenders who know how to pour and a great decor will have you comming back on the reg

Anonymous said...

Oh my. . . honestly I can't get over most of these comments. Have none of you been in a bar before??? Stay at home if you want a nice quiet night with cheap drinks.

1. the prices are comparable if not cheaper than all neighboring bars. Especially the daily specials.

2. Every person in management that I have met there, has years of experience in the bar/restaurant business.

3. It is 100% standard procedure to get a credit card from anyone sitting at the bar or even at a table after 6 or 7pm. Or just in general at any time of the day or night. I've been in bars and worked in bars in many different cities and it's probably the #1 rule, anyone can tell you that.


I can go on and on but in all sincerity we have been waiting for a place like this for years in the south loop. If you are that sensitive, don't leave your house.

Anonymous said...

I've never been asked for a credit card at Hackney's and the knucklehead ratio isn't quite as high. And I think it's pretty obvious that the previous three comments are from the same person.

Anonymous said...

Maybe all the south loopers are too angry at watching their falling home values in this over developed vanilla area to notice a finally interesting bar in the area. If you want a quiet night out with free beer, go put a chair on your tiny balcony and watch the homeless people walk by.

Anonymous said...

Average food. Average atmosphere (the neon bar ropes are VERY cheesy and seem to clash with the rest of the decor). Below-Average service. Both the servers and bar-tenders are not on their game. Nonetheless, because there are zero other options in the sloop, I'll likely be back.

Midge "Cheez" Ripoli said...

Wow lots of negativity.... I try to please everybody that comes in to Jimmy Greens. I dj there on Friday and Saturday nights, on Friday night I start at 6 and I play a lot of 80's videos and the response has been great!! Everybody likes to see all of the old videos from the MTV years and I play everything from rock to rap from Asia to Whitesnake and Bel Biv Devoe to Digital Underground to Run DMC. I have a great collection of 80's videos and coincidentally enough I love the 80's music. It was a great era for music. If someone asks me to turn it down, I turn it down although it has only happened a couple of times. At about 10 I switch to top 40 dance/club music with some 80's mixed in and we keep going til 2am. The comments that I mostly get are "wow I love that video, I haven't seen it in years" or "That song was my JAM!!!" So if you have had a bad experience here at Jimmy Greens please come back on a Friday or Saturday and come talk to me and maybe I'll even buy you a drink but please do come back because I have a great time working there and most people that hang out there have a great time!!!! See you on Friday!!!

Anonymous said...

Came here to watch the Bears. They carded us at the door, which made my aging girlfriend feel good. It was crowded but we got a table with views of a bunch of TVs. It was nice and loud, good crowd with a lot of TV yellers. Wood Hoo! It was exactly what we wanted.