Clarissa Flores is using the sports scene in Wrigleyville as inspiration for her new bar.
It is being reported a bar called Level Sporting Club is opening at 3343 N Clark Street this spring. The new concept from the hospitality director will be less than a 10-minute walk from Wrigley Field. Flores told What Now Chicago she is hoping to debut the bar by the end of April.
The bar and restaurant has been in the plans for years, according to Flores. She sought out to fill the gap of women’s sports bars in the area, seeing a concept in Seattle as inspiration. She wanted to build a space that gives women visibility and specifically shows women’s sports games.
“We are a Chicago sports bar that will put women’s sports front and center,” Flores said.
After a career as a D1 basketball player at Northwestern, Flores started working in the hospitality industry as a managing partner for V Live Chicago. This is a 55,000-square-foot entertainment venue still operating in Little Village. Since then, she has been helping elevate restaurants and venues around Chicago.
Flores is the director of operations for TAO Group, which owns TAO Asian Bistro & Nightclub at 632 N Dearborn Street in River North. The company oversees many restaurants across the country, as there are TAO locations in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
For the menu, Flores is working with Michelin-starred chef Amanda Barnes to bring elevated gastropub items. Barnes is the executive chef of TAO Chicago. Along with TAO, Barnes is executive chef at Le Colonial at 57 E Oak Street.
Flores knew when she found the location on N Clark Street that it would be the perfect fit for the new bar. Situated near the intersection of W Roscoe Street, many who get off at the Belmont L Station will surely see the bar when walking around Wrigleyville. Opening this concept has been a dream of Flores for a while.
“Chicago sports bars are institutions,” Flores said.
For more information on Level Sporting Club and the opening date, visit their Instagram @levelsportingclub.
