It’s Friday, around 11 p.m. and you’re walking down University Avenue. Up the street you see pairs upon pairs of bare legs, tight black pants, and gelled and spiked hair. No, Good Charlotte is not in town. It’s just a weekend night at Johnny O’s.
Johnny O’s, located at 620 University Ave., is still in its first year of business, but has already become a staple in campus nightlife. Although not famous for its drink specials, Johnny O’s offers an extensive drink menu. They have nearly every kind of beer and booze you could want. And their martini menu, which features over 30 drinks, offers “classy/put you on your ass" concoctions that cost less than at other bars in the area.
With a centralized location, Johnny O’s is a convenient place to get your par-tay on. Its close proximity to the Kohl Center makes it an obvious place to go before or after a hockey or basketball game. If you don’t have tickets, you can watch the game on one of many big-screen televisions. And if you are lucky enough, you might even see a real-life Big Ten athlete! Woohoo!
But even if there isn’t a game, Johnny O’s still has a lot going for it. During the week, the dim lights and dark wood interior can make the overwhelmingly large bar seem intimate. And when it’s packed on weekends, it’s a great place to listen to music that really only sounds good when you’re drinking (e.g. “Pour Some Sugar On Me”), play a game of foosball, or pick up a naive freshman.