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Originally Posted by finnbow
Loved? Has it closed? I went there many times in my numerous business trips to Chicago. I always made it a point to see the blues guitarist Michael Coleman (RIP) whenever I was in town and he was playing there.
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Kingston Mines is still in business, still owned by the Pellegrino family, the boss is now Lisa Pellegrino, daughter of Doc Pellegrino who opened it on Lincoln Ave. back in 1968. Initially as a small live theater and dinner venue, but the format was changed in the early 70's to music, mostly blues music, and drinks only. It moved a few blocks away, over on Halsted Street in 1982. And has been operating as a blues venue and restaurant ever since.
But to many of us, there was nothing like the original place on Lincoln Ave. Nobody was more than 25 or 30 feet from the stage, which was only a foot or so higher than floor level. And...it was a total dive. The urinal in the men's room was in view from the seating whenever the door opened...nobody seemed to be bothered about it. And...the building was in bad shape...rain would have runoff dripping (sometimes streaming depending on how heavy the storm) down on to parts of the interior. I experienced this several time and again, nobody seemed to care, and the music never stopped. The owners did whatever was necessary to keep the stage area dry. But there was something about the place. My favorite performers there were Slim, Little Walter, Carey Bell and his son Lurie, Big Twist, and especially Eddy Clearwater...Eddy would always throw in some Chuck Berry tunes into his sets...they were just fabulous. Eddy playing "Nadine"...ya just couldn't sit still.
If it was after 1982 you probably never saw the old Lincoln Ave. club. Or maybe you did, and you never saw the new club. Reports are that the club is in some deep financial trouble these days. Hurt by the pandemic, and other things...particularly the cost of being where it is. The Gold Coast and River North neighborhoods have become hugely expensive, but Lincoln Park has the highest median real estate prices in town.