Ask a lot of people in Chicago and even beyond, and you'll find a lot of great memories from the Twisted Spoke. The legendary bar had two locations in the city over its lifetime; one in Boystown near the Brown Line, and the other in West Town at the intersection of Grand and Ogden. I can also vouch for the fact that it had some pretty amazing food, and I'm among the many who had some great nights there with friends back in the day.
Unfortunately, though, all good things must come to an end. The Twisted Spoke closed its Boystown location several years ago, and now the flagship in West Town also closed its doors at the end of August 2025. But if you roll past it even now, as I just did so I could take you along for a food crawl through my beloved city, you'll still see Skelly the skeleton, riding his bike over where the Twisted Spoke in West Town used to be.
What will become of Skelly? Well, if local residents have anything to say about it, they're hoping he can move to a median location at the intersection. Local artist Jon Satrom even started a petition to save Skelly, provided he can clear all the permits and logistics headaches necessary to make it happen.
