Chicago's First Annual River North Craft Pub Crawl

Ted Widen, founder of Chicago-Scene.com, and Doug Simons, a prominent Chicago restaurant and bar broker, will host the first annual River North Craft Crawl on Saturday, May 18, 2013. The bar crawl will take place from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the three-block radius of River North at 10 of the area’s best bars and restaurants (participants listed below).

Each establishment will offer two domestic craft beer options for $4-5 each, a significant discount to regular pricing. PARTICIPATING CRAFT BREWERIES INCLUDE: Allagash, Bell’s, Capital, Founders, Goose Island, Great Lakes, Half Acre, Lagunitas, Milwaukee Brewing Co., Metro, Two Brothers, Three Floyds and Summit. “Craft beer has made a huge impact in recent years on Chicago’s restaurant and bar scene. We decided to do a ‘Craft Crawl’ in the heart of River North to expose Chicagoans to a variety of establishments while sampling unique products,” explained Ted Widen. In addition to craft beers, bar crawl participants will enjoy special $5 Gentleman Jack Whiskey mixed drinks and $5-7 Gourmet Burgers at all venues for the entire day.

The River North Craft Crawl will contribute a significant portion of the proceeds to Imerman Angels (a Chicago based charity which coordinates one on one cancer support worldwide). “Craftcrawls.com is already coordinating similar pub crawls in Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and other cities around the country. It’s a great way to take a short trip to a nearby city and experience their local bar/restaurant scenes,” says to Doug Simons.

Each participant’s ticket will include a lanyard, event map with all venues and the beers they will be serving, and a “Passport Challenge” form. Patrons who receive stamps at all bars on the Craft Crawl will be entered in a drawing to win a Celebrity Cruise for two, $500 or $250 in cash prizes.