Mordecai Whiskey + Grill, located inside Hotel Zachary, in the heart of Wrigleyville, was named Chicago’s Best Bar of the Year by Eater. Award-winning Chefs Matthias Merges and Jared Wentworth created a refined, American-inspired menu. A beacon for spirit aficionados, Mordecai is a destination for both discerning drinkers and casual cocktail fans.
Mordecai embodies the personality of the man behind the name, one of baseball’s all-time greats. Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown (October 19, 1876 – February 14, 1948), nicknamed Three Finger or Miner, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and manager during the first two decades of the 20th century. Due to a farm-machinery accident in his youth, Brown lost parts of two fingers on his right hand, and in the process gained a colorful nickname. He turned this handicap into an advantage by learning how to grip a baseball in a way that resulted in an exceptional curveball, which broke radically before reaching the plate. With this technique, he became one of the elite pitchers of his era. Brown brought the Cubs to the World Series in 1907 and 1908 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.
The branding aims to embody a modern twist on the early 1900s aesthetic. It celebrates Mordecai’s curve ball with the subtle lines behind his name, evoking the feeling of movement. The menus, coasters, and matchbooks incorporate stripes - a nod to suit ticking (men wore suits to baseball games back then) and stitching (baseballs and uniforms). The paper used has a flannel-like feeling, reminiscent of the baseball uniforms worn in Mordecai’s time. Some of these same stripes were used fabrics on the chairs and dining benches, tying the branding to the interior architecture.
- Creative Director + Designer
- Brenda Bergen
- Designer
- Dave Reynolds
- Photographer
- Erica Dufour
