One can only conclude that the name of this legendary singles joint is tongue-in-cheek… if your mother knew what you did here, she wouldn’t sleep at night. The heart depicted in the Mother’s logo reveals the truth: most coming to Mother’s are looking for love—at least for one night—especially those making their way from the suburbs or out-of-town to relive scenes from About Last Night with Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, shot in part here. It has been this way since they first opened their doors in 1968. Descend into the subterranean depths and you will find two pool tables and DJ-spun karaoke in the front room, and Division Street’s oldest and largest dance floor in the rear. In Spring Break fashion, this is the site of wet T-shirt, Mr. & Mrs. Division Street, and lip sync contests, as well as film screenings for independent Chicago filmmakers. The present ownership of the Lodge Management Group also claims that such bands as Cream, Velvet Underground, Chicago, and The Mekons once played in the back room, though today this success is unlikely to be replicated as the space features live band karaoke on Thursday nights, the occasional cover band on Saturday nights, and DJs every other night. This location is known as “The Original Mother’s” because you’ll find “Mother’s Too” a few doors down, which operates as an above-ground sports bar (and weekend meat market) by the same owners. For more information, check out the Mother’s website.
Full review coming soon…
