From our BEST Food + Drink of the decade feature:
When Mike N Molly’s closed in 2016, Ashley Buerkett mourned it like the rest of us, but instead also got to work with her partner Eric Meyer on redefining Bentley’s from a dusty and sort of tired space, to a lively and active one, based in catering to people who love music and good company, but with better drinks than you might find at some different dives around town. When you hire a bartender named Fu with a reputation for being one of the very best by most everyone, you usually win the game.
Now at the end of 2019, the city of Champaign has itself a new player for a spot where you can almost always be assured that young people are hanging out and having a good time. And yes, the later you go, the more people arrive but that’s sort of endemic of the best bars anyhow, right? Happy Hour bars are great and all, but no one throws a party like the Last Call bars.
Fortunately for us and its owners, it’s full most of the night, too. (Seth Fein)
Photo from Bentley’s Instagram page
