The Violet Hour

The Violet Hour was Chicago's most influential cocktail bar, opening in 2007 in Wicker Park to help pioneer the craft cocktail movement in the city. This iconic speakeasy featured a discrete single entryway behind an ever-changing mural, with three intimate interior salons lit by candlelit clusters and a spacious marble bar, maintaining a strict phone ban and seating capacity policy. Known for its James Beard Award-winning bar program with seasonally rotating cocktails rooted in pre-Prohibition style, the venue served as a foundational establishment in American craft cocktail culture. The bar closed permanently in June 2025 after 18 years in operation.