Chat Room owner Brad Henslaring’s new bar, The Usual, will be opening up across the street from his current hipster haven on Mad-Nolia ave. in 10 days, in the same spot that once housed MacHenry’s and the second coming of the Dog Star — for those who care to remember back to the heady days of the late ’90’s. The bar will specialize in prohibition-era cocktails, and will be non-smoking. I can’t really think of another bar that’s doing that in the Fort — at least one that will stay open until 2am.
I got a chance to see the place a few months ago, while it was being remodeled. It had that new bar smell, and a really cool patio out behind the place. The inside was still under construction, but I can tell you that Henslaring and company have spared no expense. Here are some great pics of how it looks now.
Opening The Usual has been a long process, with well over two years of reconstruction, and the process had been slowed by a lot of bureaucratic red-tape. But it will all be worth it when those of us who don’t smoke can finally leave a bar without smelling like a Frenchman’s neckerchief.
