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Home / Businesses / The Levee

The Levee

Iconic/NotableHermosa · Dive Bar Community-sourced, unverified
📍 4035 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60639

The Levee has worn three different names across nearly a century in Hermosa, and each one tells part of the same story: it opened in 1928 as Gayety Village, run by Ben Rynkus and his wife Trudy DeRing, who performed burlesque there under the stage name Radiana.

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Chicago Reader's 'Best 98-year-old dive bar founded by a world-famous burlesque star' (Best of Chicago 2025) — nearly a century of continuous history under three names

The McDuff family took it over in the 1950s and renamed it McDuff's, and Warren and Renee Johnson bought it in 1979, giving it its current name as a tribute to a Kansas City bar Warren remembered from his Marine Corps days.

The Chicago Reader named it 'Best 98-year-old dive bar founded by a world-famous burlesque star' in its 2025 Best of Chicago poll — a title almost too specific to be anything but true.

📸 See more of The Levee

Specials at The Levee

(1)

The Levee

Iconic/Notable
Hermosa's 98-Year-Old Dive Bar
HermosaCommunity

Hours

Dailyfrom 4pm; closes 2am Mon-Fri & Sun
3am Sat (not independently re-confirmed as current)
🥡 Takeout unconfirmed 📞 773-342-2808

Amenities & accessibility

❔Takeout: unverified
❔Wheelchair access: unverified

Location

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