- Robert Loerzel
If there’s a ever been a reason to revoke a Best of Chicago award, this has to be it. The great, frozen-in-time Bridgeport package-goods bar Kaplan’s Liquors, aka Maria’s, aka Best Dive Bar Full of Dummies, just underwent a significant makeover, according to a press release sent out by art impresario Ed Marszewski, son of Maria herself:
This DIY redo features a significant remix of the former bar’s interior design. And old art deco cooler has been refurbished and moved to the front of the store and you can access the bar through the cooler door. There are some nice features: chandeliers made of beer bottles; recycled hardwood benches; hand crafted butcher block tables; and Mike’s beer can collection is featured in the bathrooms. Local artists’ work adorn the walls, and a vast network of artists, musicians and cultural workers of all stripes DJ each night.*