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The people behind North Killingsworth's Old Gold and Paydirt–that little beer and booze bar in the Zipper with the knockoff Zima—will open a new spot called Tough Luck Bar located in the former 18 and Dekum St. Market and Deli.
But it looks like the food will be a lot more ambitious than at previous spots from owners Ezra Caraeff, John Naekel and Chip Addabbo.
Lauren Miller, who cooked at Imperial under chef Doug Adams, plans a mix of flavors from Korea and her home state of Kentucky. In a certain regard, it becomes a sort of Kim Jong Smokehouse North: Korean fried chicken with tom kha sauce, smoky barbecued lamb with gochujang and pickled mustard greens, and a kimchi-pimento burger.
The cocktails, on the other hand, seem to be following the lead of Old Gold–a lot of whiskey, and a lot of whiskey-beer pairings, plus a bunch of house-made shrubs. There'a also a fireplace, a patio and a midcentury shuffleboard table.
The owners hope to be open by "mid-May," which is a fancy way of saying "the end of next week."
Another bar is also slated to open in Dekum this Spring in the former Bushwhacker Cider building. The Grand Army Tavern, which will be opened by a couple from New York, will be a daiquiri-happy, nose-to-tail pork bar.