A good tavern is hard to find. This new book is about Weeds, its bartender and his creations.
Two men walked into a tavern.
This was not unusual for these two men to walk into taverns. The two men, who were myself and the writer and filmmaker Dave Hoekstra, know taverns, having spent much of our working and relaxing lives sitting in taverns and frequently writing about them.
I have been at it for decades, ever since some misguided Sun-Times editors asked me to write about “bars and nightclubs” and that’s some of what I did at that newspaper and later the Tribune, among many duties.
Hoekstra too, at the Sun-Times after I left, covered taverns and music and baseball and, for a time, the Bulls. He was prolific, writing books on the side, and after leaving the paper in 2014, stayed active by running a lively website, hosting a WGN radio show, freelance writing, producing documentaries (“The Center of Nowhere: The Spirit & Sounds of Springfield, Missouri”) and writing more books, the latest being last year’s “Beacons in the Darkness: Hope and Transformation Among America’s Community Newspapers.”
And now there is another. When we met, the tavern was empty, so I saw him immediately when he walked in and was not surprised that he was carrying a book. As he writes in the book, it’s about “the Near North Side neighborhood tavern Weeds (that) has been a garden of cultural delights.” He makes a strong case for Weeds “being one of the most important taverns in the city’s history.”
Don’t know it? Possible I suppose, since it is tucked in the city at 1555 N. Dayton St., just west of the Old Town neighborhood. The building began its life as a children’s furniture store, maybe also a soda fountain, becoming a tavern in 1963, its name the 1555 Club. It became Weeds in the early 1980s (so named for the other street that forms its corner) and has since been an important and nurturing part of the city’s arts scene.
This was where Marc Smith began the singular and empowering event known at the Poetry Slam, later a Sunday night staple at the Green Mill. Poetry remained an attraction at Weeds, as well as music of all sorts.
And always there was the main attraction in human form: Sergio Mayora, bartender, artist-in-residence and public face of the tavern. He was a distinct and towering character. As actor Michael Shannon puts it, “My first impression was, well, I was intimidated … He’s just one of those people who is mysterious to command your attention. You want to know what he’s thinking, y’know?”
You will certainly come to know Mayora through Hoekstra’s writing and, I think, appreciate his art. The esteemed artist and gallery owner Tony Fitzpatrick gave Mayora his first gallery show many years ago. “I found him a fascinating Gordian knot of contradictions,” says Fitzpatrick. “This big burly guy; who made these amazing, small, intricate, and elegant boxes that were funny, moving, and in some cases bitterly funny. He brings brutal honesty and intelligence to so much of his work.”
So Hoekstra sat down and opened his book. “Weeds Tavern: Poster Art by Sergio Mayora” was published by Trope Publishing, a local press that has been, for a few years now, turning out eye-grabbing volumes.
Started by photographer Tom Maday and designer Sam Landers, Trope has transported readers to such places as Chicago, London, Tokyo, and elsewhere. It has produced dozens of books.
This trip to Weeds is the result of a lengthy story that Hoekstra wrote for Newcity, the local publication increasingly interested in giving readers lengthy city tales.
Weeds was never one of my go-to taverns in the day but I can remember long evenings there. I never really got to know Mayora and so this book comes as a colorful revelation, filled with Hoekstra’s detailed reporting and typically lyrical prose.
It also includes a short introduction by Shannon, the acclaimed actor who was not unfamiliar with taverns when starting his acting career here at A Red Orchid Theatre, to which he remains loyal and supportive. He writes, “I live in New York now. The wild nights are a thing of the past. Now I go to museums for fun.” He further tells us, “The other afternoon I went to the Whitney to see the Edward Hopper exhibit. Then I checked out the house collection for a bit. The Whitney is devoted to American Art and they don’t have a single Sergio Mayora!!! Heresy!!! Time for another curator!!”
He may be right for this book contains more than 40 posters that Mayora designed and created over the years. They are playful, striking, humorous and philosophical, forming a gallery of inventive, compelling and thought-provoking collages, all intended long ago to promote the tavern by being pasted on phone booths (remember those?) and light poles.
Weeds is not the bar it used to be. Mayora, though he might show up at area spots such as Martyrs’ or the Old Town Ale House, is out of the business now and Weeds has a sports bar vibe. Looking for a taste of what Weeds used to be? You might want to visit the Hideout just to the northwest, another fine tavern. Or, of course, buy this book.
