Steep Ravine Brewing, the Highland Park craft brewer that shed its Ravinia Brewing name after a legal trademark battle with Ravinia Festival, is reopening its Logan Square taproom next month with a new partner — Chicago-based Moor’s Brewing.
Diversey House, which bills itself as an experiential sports bar and brewery, will feature on-site offerings from both Steep Ravine and Moor’s, 25 large-screen TVs and a new menu from celebrity chef and partner Marc Anthony Bynum, a three-time “Chopped” champion.
The pairing of the former Ravinia Brewing, which is rebranding after more than a decade as a North Shore staple, with Moor’s, a growing Black-owned craft brewery founded three years ago in Bronzeville, comes at a pivotal time for both, creating a potentially high-profile venue for expanding their respective reach.
“This is a completely integrated operation,” Kris Walker, 48, co-founder of Ravinia Brewing/Steep Ravine, said Wednesday. “We’re all going to grow together. That’s the goal.”
The Logan Square taproom, which Ravinia Brewing opened in 2021, was at the center of its trademark dispute with Ravinia Festival.
When Ravinia Brewing launched its north suburban brewpub seven years ago, Ravinia Festival immediately challenged the brewery’s right to use the name before reaching an agreement to share the hometown moniker — with certain restrictions.
But Ravinia Festival rescinded the agreement and filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in 2023, alleging among other things that opening of the second Ravinia Brewing location in Chicago, which offered live summer musical performances, “caused actual confusion in the marketplace.”
Both sides reached a settlement in September, with Ravinia Brewing agreeing to rebrand. While the renamed Steep Ravine continued brewing at its Diversey Avenue location, it closed the taproom to relaunch as a new concept.
Connected by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, Steep Ravine and Moor’s found common ground and an opportunity to partner in the reimagined venture on Diversey Avenue in Logan Square
Opening Feb. 5, the renovated century-old Diversey House will feature a restaurant and sports bar, an outdoor beer garden and a connected brewery, which Walker expects will be operating at full capacity as it produces both Steep Ravine and Moor’s beers.
Launched on Juneteenth 2021 by Damon Patton and Jamhal Johnson, Moor’s has quickly established itself as one of the fastest-growing Black-owned craft breweries in the U.S., with a broad retail presence across Chicago and expanded distribution into New York, New Jersey and Indiana.
Diversey House, however, will be the first actual taproom for Moor’s, an important step in further establishing the craft brewer’s place among Chicago beer aficionados.
“We were already in the position of looking for property and space to open a taproom,” said Johnson, 48, a former corporate tax accountant and South Side native. “It was a way for us to engage our fans and people who love our beer on the North Side. It gives us a home, a foundation to kind of curate and bring a new experience to the neighborhood.”
Meanwhile, Steep Ravine continues the slow rollout of its new brand, as cans of Ravinia Brewing become scarcer on store shelves, and the new name starts to gain traction with consumers. The company just got approval from Highland Park to replace the Ravinia Brewing sign on its north suburban taproom, which will probably happen in February or March, Walker said.
Add in the opening of Diversey House next month and it may be the tipping point at which Steep Ravine truly supplants Ravinia Brewing in the hearts, minds and gullets of Chicago beer drinkers.
“That’s kind of going to be our formal rebirth,” Walker said.
For the nascent Moor’s, joining South Side and North Shore breweries in Logan Square may be the launching pad both need in an increasingly challenging craft brewing market, where consolidation and liquidation have been prevalent in recent years.
“There’s power in collaboration,” Johnson said. “I think this is our perfect opportunity to showcase that and how well it works.”
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
