Locals Only

Locals Only has provided an opportunity for many local acts to showcase their talents and arts, and a location for people of all sorts to meet and mingle. There has been room on the calendar for many diverse guests and features; from rock, to hip hop, djs spinning to blues, poetry and open mic, and a place for diehard Chicago Bears football coverage.
As their sponsor brought FREE Thursday events, the place would be packed with people; so often so, many times you were lucky if you got in. If that weren’t enough, the $ 1 Drafts & drinks specials were an added bonus, with a decent array of menu items, though I didn’t go for the food. The people behind the movement are really what matters here.
The sponsors have since moved on and times have been hard for this spot with so much competition in town, new brewpubs and outdoor patios and venues vying for the mighty dollar. Just last week they announced that the upcoming smoking ban has helped with a decision to close the doors, very sad, but who knows what’s in store. This is a great location, so all I can do is be thankful I had the chance to enjoy so many fuzzy nights amongst friends and tip my hat for a job well done. Thanks so Dave & staff for all the fun & best wishes for the adventures ahead!

Open blues jam on Thursdays– It’s pretty cool. This is a nice place to catch some bands.
I dig it.
The food? Sucks. Apparently it used to be better, but I don’t plan on eating here anymore. The french fries were baked (oh, healthier, right?) — No– Like frozen. They taste like freezer.
I had a bite of my boyfriends tenderloin. Ugh. Same freezer, processed taste. Gross.
It was pretty cheap, though… So that’s a plus. The drinks are good.

I can’t speak to all the bears chatter. I have heard of sports, but I’m not totally sure how they work. I went here recently for a concert. The sound was well done, the two-​seater booths were cute. The bartenders were funny. Not bad.

There are many dive bars in our fair city, and this one is just like many others. Nothing fancy but had that wonderful vibe that makes for an interesting evening. I must say though naming a place locals only and not having any local beer on tap is more than a bit disappointing.

My friend is a huge Chicago Bears fan, so she took me to Locals Only for a Bears game.
I’m not a Bears fan, so I felt a little out of place. I’m pretty sure that I was the only one not wearing blue and orange.
That being said, it was fun. I would go back. Never wear a Colts jersey there.
The food is pretty cheap. I got a large slice of pizza. The bar feels like you’re in someone’s basement. It’s dark and grungy. Arrive early if there is a Bears game– it will be packed.

I miss Chicago. I miss Chicago news, Chicago Saturday afternoon TV (Svengoolie), Chicago food, and most of all, watching DA BEARS play on a Sunday with people who love them. Guess what? Local’s Only can remedy most of these situations. What can I say? I look better in orange and navy blue than royal blue and white, and will never wear that stuff.
The first time I walked in on game day, I knew I was home. Surrounded by Bears fans so Bears-​y that they were akin to my Uncle Jim (who may or may not have run around Lambeau Field in Green Bay wearing a Walter Payton jersey) and just waiting to be your new Bears friend.
Local’s brings you great Chicago food on game days, and the inflatable Bears player that is inflated during every touchdown is the cherry on an ice cream sundae of awesome. There are raffles for Bears gear, and a very friendly staff who are comfortable dealing with a full house.
Bear Down, come to Local’s, and feel like you’re home again.
IF YOU ORDER POP, THEY CHARGE BY THE GLASS. I learned this all too well this weekend with a large tab.

Being originally from northwest Indiana, I grew up a Bears fan. One of the saddest things about coming to Indy was losing Chicago TV coverage (what do you mean they just aren’t showing the Bears game?!). On a sad day last season, I was planning on watching a Sunday afternoon Bears game and for god knows what reason, the Indy Fox channel decided that showing the movie Pearl Harbor would be a better idea. (Seriously?! Don’t they know what’s at stake here?). As Indianapolis is a large metropolitan area, I figured there had to be some bar somewhere that would be showing the Bears game, and that hopefully was full of other Bears fans. After first googleing «Indianapolis Bears Bar» and coming up with a list of bars that were not at all what I was looking for, I revised my search to «Indianapolis Chicago Bears Bar» and found that Locals Only is the place to be for Bears fans.
As you can imagine, I was MUCH more excited about this than my Colts fan husband, but in the face of me incessantly singing the fight song into his ear, he eventually sucked it up and got in the car to accompany me to the bar. Once we got there, what I found was a mecca for those of us who have immigrated south from NWI (in fact, there were several people I went to high school with in a booth). I looked out across a beautiful sea of orange and blue shirts and hats and felt completely at home. From that day on, this bar was my go-​to spot for watching Bears game. They do a raffle each game for a jersey, play the fight song over the speakers when they score, and occasionally hand out orange colored Bears shots! Goose Island pitchers also go on special for game nights — nothing like a delicious pitcher of 312 while watching Urlacher smash heads.
As though this bar had not already done enough to win over my heart, it is also a wonderful dive bar, my favorite type of bar. They have a stage, though I have yet to make it there to see any bands play, and if you go any day except Sunday, they have a killer menu of tasty pub food.
I will end with a song I look forward to hearing blared over the speakers at Locals only this fall:
Bear down, Chicago Bears, make every play clear the way to victory;
Bear down, Chicago Bears, put up a fight with a might so fearlessly.
We’ll never forget the way you thrilled the nation with your T-​formation.
Bear down, Chicago Bears, and let them know why you’re wearing the crown.
You’re the pride and joy of Illinois, Chicago Bears, bear down!

smoky grungy bar with killer drink specials and a stage for bands. not really my scene, but overall it’s a pretty decent bar and concert venue.

Heh heh, I love Locals. This relatively undiscovered little shack behind the Mousetrap is Dive Bar Supreme of Indianapolis, if you ask me. I have a soft spot for run-​down, beat-​up old spots with hardly anyone in them, and this bar can sometimes fit that bill. However, Locals Only is also unique in that it really reaches out to local acts of all genres (as the name might indicate), and it offers live music six nights a week, as well as open stage every Wednesday. It really lives up to its self-​appointed title of «art and music pub.» They have good drink specials, and be warned (or tipped off, as the case may be): they mix ‘em strong!