The Kit Kat Club may have a new name and location, but it’s staying true to the lounge’s drag dining roots.
The new spot (3524 N. Halsted St.) comes from the owners’ love for the Art Deco period, accompanied by a swanky interior full of chandeliers, moody lighting, and a mirrored glass brass bar, alongside modern enhancements, like LED screens displaying an array of bold colors. Even the exterior is hard to miss, with a multi-colored light display on the side of the building, welcoming patrons into a new era of the beloved Lake View institution.
Expanding beyond drag, the new Kit Kat Club will offer a variety of performances, each Tuesday and Wednesday featuring live cabaret music, while a dancer from the Joffrey Ballet will perform on Thursdays. Weekends will host the drag performances at the root of the lounge’s identity, from nightly performances to weekend brunches, alongside gogo dancing.
“Drag will always be at the heart of Kit Kat,” co-owner Ramesh Ariyanayakam promised at the club’s media opening Oct. 9, while teasing the club’s move forward.
The shift a few blocks south comes after the owners, Ariyanayakam and his partner Edward Gisiger, bought the new building last November following 25 years of renting the previous space on Halsted and Waveland.
For the past eight months, the owners have been hard at work renovating the interior—previously a lighting store—to remake it under a new aesthetic, with pink, gold and gray marble and mood-lighting providing a major refresh.
“It feels great because it’s our space and we can do what we want with it,” Ariyanayakam shared.
The owners hope the new “food and cocktail forward” focus can bring about a new energy for the bar. Ariyanayakam said he wants the club to fill the gap among the other Boystown offerings, giving people a place to “go out for dinner and have a conversation with friends in a great environment, and have great food and great cocktails.”
A new menu from chef Chelsea Poe offers a variety of dining options, from truffle mac and cheese to steak frites, in addition to an extensive cocktail menu. Weekend drag brunches offer chicken and waffles, shakshuka and $10 martinis. With a location even closer to the Boystown strip, Ariyanayakam said he hopes the Kit Kat Club will benefit from increased foot traffic.
Photos by Del Nakamura
Still, “it’s always been a destination spot, anyway,” Ariyanayakam said.
“I’ve heard from several people in the last week that we’ve been open; they see something simmering and fun, and it entices them in,” he added. “People want to see what’s happening in this space. And so it brings them in, and they stick.”
