Service Yourself

Dancing around your apartment to old Michael Jackson tunes, you’re bound to work up an appetite. When you’ve done all the Thriller moves your downstairs neighbor can take for one night, why not head out to a local restaurant that offers an industry discount? Most restaurants and bars aren’t going to make you take a bartending quiz to prove you’re for real — seems “industry” is a very liberal term that can apply to strippers, telemarketers, busboys and even publicists (yay me!).

Some places in Chicago that offer industry discounts (I haven’t visited all of these places, so you might want to double-check about the discount before you go ordering everything on the menu):

Rockit in both River North and Wrigleyville offer 50 percent off! You can get the burger that was voted one of the best in the nation by “Good Morning America” — black angus beef on a delicious soft pretzel bun — for $5, fries included. I recommend paying an extra 50 cents to upgrade to the yummy sweet potato fries with brown sugar salt. Industry discount at the River North locale is Monday; Tuesday for Wrigleyville.

Sunda, my friend Amy’s favorite, has 50 percent off on Sundays.

Cagney’s gives a 50 percent discount also, be but forewarned: “Patrons must present a business card for industry discount.”

Toasted Ox by DePaul gives industry workers 20 percent off their tab.

Lumen, a trendy nightclub, hosts an industry night on Tuesdays. Careful not to lose your purse under the super-low tables. You’ll see what I mean.
Pippin’s, a dive bar in Streeterville, is said to offer an industry discount every night.

Green Dolphin Street hosts a hospitality appreciation night one Monday a month, with free drinks offered under different promotions (Side benefit: if you go on the wrong Monday, you will end up on a dance floor of trannies).

Swirl Wine Bar has Restaurant Appreciation Industry Night every first Wednesday of the month, with a 50 percent discount.