Ask a lot of people in Chicago and even beyond, and you'll find a lot of great memories from the Twisted Spoke. The legendary bar had two locations in the city over its lifetime; one in Boystown near the Brown Line, and the other in West Town at the intersection of Grand and Ogden. I can also vouch for the fact that it had some pretty amazing food, and I'm among the many who had some great nights there with friends back in the day.
Unfortunately, though, all good things must come to an end. The Twisted Spoke closed its Boystown location several years ago, and now the flagship in West Town also closed its doors at the end of August 2025. But if you roll past it even now, as I just did so I could take you along for a food crawl through my beloved city, you'll still see Skelly the skeleton, riding his bike over where the Twisted Spoke in West Town used to be.
What will become of Skelly? Well, if local residents have anything to say about it, they're hoping he can move to a median location at the intersection. Local artist Jon Satrom even started a petition to save Skelly, provided he can clear all the permits and logistics headaches necessary to make it happen.
For what it's worth, according to the excellent local news site Block Club Chicago, the owners of the Twisted Spoke are totally on board with keeping Skelly watching over that intersection forever. And why not? He's been a part of the neighborhood fabric for decades now (seriously, since 1995!), and it would honestly seem kind of weird and off-putting to have him suddenly go quiet into that good night, you know?
If you're reading this and you're unfamiliar with Chicago geography, there's another really great reason to keep Skelly at the intersection of Grand and Ogden, and it's this: Who else do you want to keep watch over his part of Route 66? No, for real. I'll wait if you have a better answer, because I know you don't. Skelly is absolutely the right guy for the job.
You can support the effort by signing the petition, and/or sharing the information with friends and family who might want to support the mission and help Satrom and West Town save this iconic piece of neighborhood history, potentially for generations to come.
Do you have memories of the Twisted Spoke? They had a portabello mushroom burger that would blow your mind, and that I remember eagerly diving into for the first time when I was in culinary school. And now, I'm hungry. Thanks, Skelly!
