As the music pumped, courtesy of DJ Bobby Marley, and patrons raised their glasses at Uptown's Wild Pug Oct. 27, the bar's festive mood carried with it an undeniably bittersweet tinge. The night's last call marked the end of the Uptown English pub-inspired gay bar's nearly two year run. By the following day, the Wild Pug had closed its doors for good.
While the bar's owners, Steve Milford and Brian Wellswho also own Crew Bar & Grill next doorsaid they will miss many of the Wild Pug's high points, the bar had struggled for some time. Last year, Milford and Wells downsized their staff and put out a call for new investors to help offset slow sales at the Puga reported 20 percent lower than what they had initially projected. But any improvement was too little, too late.
"When the concept of Wild Pug began, we were excited to bring another new bar to the Uptown neighborhood, however, we seemed to be cursed from the get-go," Milford stated in an e-mail. "We opened the bar nine months behind schedule, due to the city, and when we did open, we had the collapse of the economy throwing our country into its worst recession in our lifetime."
"We tried hard to make a go of it, but the reality of the economy being slow to bounce back made us realize we were not going to make it out without major capital investment. With all the talk of the 'double dip' economy, the investors were impossible to find," Milford added.
What made the Wild Pug uniquebesides its beautiful interiors, inspired both by classic English pubs and the infamous aesthete Oscar Wildewas a wide gamut of events that catered to a slightly off-center queer crowd.
The bar hosted a weekly Live Game Show, spoofing the B-list celebrities who frequented programs including Hollywood Squares, Family Feud and Match Game, and welcomed diverse groups including Asians & Friends Chicago, the Trevor Project and the American Animal Rescue Society to host events and fundraisers in their space. In a nod to the bar's name, Milford added that he and Wells will particularly miss their weekly "dog day afternoons," where patrons were invited to bring their dogs to the pub along with them.
The bar had also developed a following for its monthly Prose, Poetry and Pints at the Pug night and weekly Unpugged music series. Both events showcased local queer artists. Unpugged curator singer-songwriter Stephen Leonard said he appreciated the bar taking a risk by embracing live music, something he says many other businesses are reluctant to do for performers who fall outside of the drag or cabaret genres.
"They were so gracious in giving me a platform to run with and see how it went," Leonard said. "It really was the catalyst for building a strong community of local musicians."
Despite the hardships they faced in getting Wild Pug off the ground, Milford said he and Wells owed thanks to many for the past two years.
"We greatly appreciate the support from our loyal customers, the investors and, of course, our amazing staff," Milford said.
Crew, now in its sixth year, will be picking up some of the slack with the Pug's closing, extending its hours until 2 a.m. Additionally, the bar's popular Fun Time Karaoke, with Bill Larkin, will debut in its new homeCrewbeginning Thursday, Nov. 4, at 10 p.m. The bar's owners are also considering expanding their gay sports bar concept to other cities.