Team Behind The Old Gold and Paydirt Announce New Bar

A new bar called Tough Luck is headed to 1771 NE Dekum, according to a press release. “We're hoping to be open later this month,” writes Ezra Caraeff, who co-owns Tough Luck with John Naekel, Chip Addabbo, and Andrew Finkelman.

Caraeff, Naekel, and Addabbo are the trio of restaurateurs behind The Old Gold and Paydirt, the latter is the drinking establishment inside NE Sandy’s Zipper complex with Fernet-Branca on-tap and a 50-foot bar. Finkelman, who grew up in the Woodlawn neighborhood, will be bar manager.

Along with a whiskey-heavy bar program — something The Old Gold is well-known for — Tough Luck will feature plates by chef Lauren Miller, who has cooked at Imperial, Bar Avignon, and Sasquatch Brewing Company. Miller hails from Southern Kentucky and will prepare dishes equally inspired by her grandmother’s recipes and her adoration for Korean cooking. Think Korean Fried Chicken with “Tom Kha sauce,” presumedly with coconut milk, kaffir lime, galangal root, and more.

Of course, any establishment from Caraeff, Naekel, and Addabbo must have a piece de resistance, and at Tough Luck, that’d be a 22-foot shuffleboard table with a 16-foot score board. Vying for your attention when Tough Luck opens later this month will be a large patio with a fire pit.

• Tough Luck [Official Site]
• Take a Tour of The Zipper’s Paydirt Bar [EPDX]