Stranger Things pop-up bar opens in Chicago

An immersive pop-up bar based on the Netflix series Stranger Things has opened in Chicago, giving fans of the show a chance to visit ‘the upside down’ before the show’s second season airs in October.

The bar, named ‘The Upside Down’ after the insidious parallel dimension in the show, has been created by Chicago-based Emporium Pop Ups and will remain open until the end of September, with the second season of the show set to air in October.

The show, set in the 80s, follows the story of four children who take in a young girl named Eleven on the run after escaping from a laboratory, where scientists had accidentally opened a portal into a dangerous dimension allowing a supernatural monster known as the Demogorgon to prey on the townspeople of Hawkins.

According to its organisers, the bar will be the “end of Summer 80’s dance party of your dreams, filled with curious things inspired by and paying homage to the instant-classic television show about the haunting happenings in Hawkins, Indiana and the brave kids of the Hawkins Middle School A.V. Club who saved their friend and their town from the devious deeds of the Hawkins National Laboratory & the subsequent devastation of the Demogorgon.”

Inside the bar, one wall is decorated to look like the inside of the Byers family home, with an old couch, colourful Christmas lights, and hand-painted letters, used by Jonathan to communicate with his mother while trapped in the ‘Upside Down’.

There’s also a mural of Eleven with a giant Eggo waffle behind her, as well as a smaller painting of Barb on the tap machine.

On the drinks menu expect Eleven’s Eggo cocktails – an alcoholic slushie made with bourbon, juice, and maple syrup, topped a piece of waffle – alongside others including the ‘Snack Pack’, ‘Demogorgon’, ‘Mouthbreather’, and ‘She’s Our Friend & She’s Crazy.’