The Native
Bar · Logan Square ·
Retro tavern with tap beers, craft cocktails, free popcorn
Retro tavern with tap beers, craft cocktails, free popcorn
"We like to think of The Native as the Cheers bar of Logan Square. It’s a place where everyone knows your name and, if they don’t, they’ll shower you in boozy slushies until names don’t really matter. While it only opened in 2017, this cash-only spot feels like it’s been here forever—complete with leather booths and a long wooden bar perfect for downing pints of High Life. There’s also a seasonal back patio, which occasionally hosts pop-up events. It’s a great place to get to know one of the bartenders over a few shots of Malört, as they really are some of the friendliest around." - sarah freeman, john ringor
"Originally opened in 2017 as a hostel with a restaurant and bar, the site closed its hostel operations at the start of the COVID pandemic in March 2020 and pivoted into a business-incubator hub that housed several restaurants and food trucks. In spring 2023 the property was taken over by the incoming indoor-golf operator, which forced many of those food businesses to close or relocate." - Nadia Chaudhury
"A hostel that opened in May 2017 with an on-site restaurant and bar, it later pivoted into a small-business incubator during the pandemic and housed several restaurant concepts operating out of its rooms. One clandestine omakase launched there in 2022, using a former bedroom as a tasting space. The property closed in June 2023 to prepare for conversion by an Australian company into an indoor putt-putt golf course scheduled to open in November 2023." - Nadia Chaudhury
"A multi-use East Austin building that originally opened as a hostel in 2017 and later pivoted into a restaurant and business incubator has permanently closed as it is repurposed into a putt-putt course. In 2022 it became home to several small restaurants and food trucks (including a sushi spot, Japanese comfort-food, Jamaican fare, and a taco truck); several of those operators say they received only about a month’s notice of the change. The space had become an incubator for new local concepts before the recent takeover by an overseas company." - Erin Russell
"I learned the Native originally opened as a hostel with a restaurant and bar in 2017 but, due to the pandemic, shifted to a business-only model and converted its rooms into various shops and restaurants, housing concepts like Tiny Diner and the omakase spot Toshokan." - Nadia Chaudhury
