RIP Skrine Chops and Hardwood.
Hardwood, a gay bar located at 7414 Madison St., will rebrand to an Irish bar on Feb. 24 with a “Murphy’s is BACK” party. Hardwood opened in July 2017 and is the only gay bar in Forest Park.
“I’ve been wanting to open a gay bar forever,” Owner David Lipka said upon the bar’s open. “My whole position is to ignite some spark, some change on Madison Street…Let’s get everybody moving and shaking again. Let’s get things rocking and rolling.”
Owners David Lipka and Matt Mathey will remain the owners of the soon-to-be Murphy’s bar, although they are doing some renovations to the upstairs level. The two were unable to comment on the rebrand.
Meanwhile, Skrine Chops, 7230 Madison St., is also on the market, according to a Feb. 11 listing by The Sokol Group realtor agency.
“Don’t worry…if you love Skrine’s yummy food they will continue doing catering from another location,” the post reads. “There is no For Sale sign, establishment is running business as-usual until sale. Please do not disturb employees or clients when you come in to check it out.”
The 3,000-square foot restaurant features a private room for events upstairs, an outdoor area and a studio apartment. The Sokol Group is asking $850,000 for the space — “you get everything but the name/ phone number,” the post reads.
Owner Steve Skrine was unable to comment on the move. But “if this transformation takes place in the future, Steve will continue to provide his delicious food in many different ways: on-site grilling, catering for celebratory occasions, other businesses, local events and organizations,” reads a post on Skrine Chops’ Facebook on Feb. 12.
CONTACT: ntepper@wjinc.com
