{"id":2401228,"date":"2026-05-04T10:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T10:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2401228"},"modified":"2026-05-04T10:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T10:36:06","slug":"new-club-decibel-opens-in-former-berlin-space-on-belmont-thankfully-it-still-has-the-same-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/new-club-decibel-opens-in-former-berlin-space-on-belmont-thankfully-it-still-has-the-same-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"New club Decibel opens in former Berlin space on Belmont: \u2018Thankfully it still has the same energy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Steps from the Red Line , sandwiched between a cheese-based bar and a mobile phone repair shop, the new nightclub Decibel is quickly filling up. <\/p>\n

It is Saturday night of the club\u2019s opening weekend. Free entry ended at 10 p.m. and the line stretches down the block, past what is affectionately called \u201cpiss alley,\u201d for reasons you may assume, and continues to the Taco Bell.<\/p>\n

They wait in hopes of rekindling the flame that went out Nov. 19, 2023 \u2014 the day the historic Berlin nightclub closed after more than 40 years serving the North Side LGBTQ community . Many wondered: Could new life settle in at 954 W. Belmont Ave.?<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
\n

Pierce Le\u2019Ville, 23 (left) and Lola, 38, (right) pose with Detox, a former contestant on \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race,\u201d outside of Decibel.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n

\n

Brittany Sowacke\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

That new life is a dual-bar concept, The Belmont\/Decibel, announced last year by HV Entertainment. The Belmont is a relaxed cocktail bar early in the evening, but after 10 p.m., a curtain is pulled back to reveal the revamped dance floor. The transformation into Decibel is complete.<\/p>\n

Flyers for the weekend asked: \u201cdeja vu? experience the new\u2026\u201d A sign inside echoes the sentiment: \u201cWelcome to the new era of DB, be sure to dance like you did at Berlin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"A<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
\n

A sign welcomes newcomers and returnees alike to Decibel, which opened in the former Berlin club, located at 954 W. Belmont Ave.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n

\n

Brittany Sowacke\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

HV Entertainment also owns the queer establishments Fantasy Nightclub, Bobby Loves, The Closet, and Chicago Eagle, most within walking distance of each other in the Boystown neighborhood. <\/p>\n

Friday, on opening night, DJs Austin Neff, Club Chow and iambrandon performed. On Saturday, it was Nevin Sounds, Greg Haus and Boy Alberto played Saturday. All chosen artists had ties to the shuttered club, making their return to the booth a full circle moment.<\/p>\n

Berlin opened in 1983, owned by friends Shirley Mooney and Tim Sullivan. After Sullivan\u2019s death, Mooney transferred ownership to Jim Schuman and Jo Webster, who owned the club until its closing. Host to themed nights, drag shows and thousands of local performers, Berlin was the living, breathing heart of the queer and alternative community.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Riley<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
\n

Riley Rogers, 37, (left) and Loki, 23, both of Rogers Park, dance on Saturday at Decibel.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n

\n

Brittany Sowacke\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

After a months-long unionization effort by employees was unsuccessful, the owners cited rising costs and Schuman\u2019s cancer diagnosis when they announced its closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kinda surreal to be back here,\u201d said Andrew Rogers, 34, of Rogers Park on Saturday. \u201cI never thought I\u2019d return to the space. Thankfully it still has the same energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friend, Riley Rogers, 37, also of Rogers Park, agrees. \u201cHaving the sense of community is very important to me. Berlin brought so many queer and alt people together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outerwear starts to be peeled off around 9:30 p.m., the floor becoming harder to navigate as it fills with bodies. Miss Kitten Pawcolypse, 36, of Edgewater, a local burlesque performer, almost immediately heads to the front elevated stage, making it her home for the night. She even has an outfit change planned. <\/p>\n

After initial plans for a male strip club<\/a> in the space were announced in 2024 , community reaction was poor. More than 1,500 signed a petition opposing it, concerned about \u201ctoxic masculinity,\u201d the hiring requirements and exclusion of female patrons. HV Entertainment declined to move forward with purveyor Matt Colunga and instead, formed its own plan to revitalize the bar.<\/p>\n

Berlin\u2019s enclosed DJ booth, glass blocks and mirror wall are gone. In their place, a second bar flanks the dance floor. There\u2019s also an additional elevated dance stage, more seating options, redone bathrooms, a better sound system and new lights.<\/p>\n

Marcus Devins, a manager at Decibel, started coming to Berlin in the \u201890s, sneaking in on his first visit at age 17. Programming manager Austin Neff, who also DJ\u2018d on Friday, is another longtime partier at Berlin and promises the \u201cretro vibes\u201d will continue.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Gabriela<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
\n

Gabriela Molina, 25, of Rogers Park, (right) hypes up her friend, Kim Dunkerley, 23, of Bridgeport, (left) for \u201cbeing hot!\u201d \u201cWe used to come all the time,\u201d said Molina, \u201cwe missed it but this has been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n

\n

Brittany Sowacke\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

Bartender Derek Stuch, 31, of Edgewater, didn\u2019t come often before the new bar opened but knew Devins and Neff.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about the name,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s about the vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norma Ferrel, 24, of Logan Square, and Mo Pagano, 26, of Edgewater, found an isolated spot near the window to talk despite the loud dance floor around them. Dating for eight months now, the two agree they\u2019re still adjusting to the location but the music has been better than expected. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Gabrielle<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n
\n

Gabrielle Perry, 25, (center) of Chatham, and Eve Means, 26, of Lake View, embrace while dancing at Decibel\u2019s opening weekend on Saturday. \u201cI live in walking distance and for me, Berlin was always more queer than all the other bars on Halsted and I\u2019m happy it\u2019s back,\u201d said Means. <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n

\n

Brittany Sowacke\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

By 10:30 p.m. body heat fogs the windows and sweat passes from person to person, a dance floor ritual. Under the neon lights, Josh Purkeypile, 41, of Old Town, is handed a shot and jokes \u201cthis is where we come to feel young again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside, Moises Bernal, 25, of Berwyn, James Arnold, 28, and Art Thomas, 27, both of Logan Square, take a cigarette break and note the drinks were cheaper than they expected.<\/p>\n

Local drag stars Denali Foxx, who competed on \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race,\u201d and Pierce Le\u2019Ville, currently featured on the show \u201cHaus Queens,\u201d made appearances, as well as Detox, another queen popularized by \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deep bass music and a whiff of Amytal hang in the air. Ghosts are said to haunt many buildings in this white city but the ancient presence lingering at Decibel may just be joy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.wbez.org \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steps from the Red Line , sandwiched between a cheese-based bar and a mobile phone repair shop, the new nightclub Decibel is quickly filling up. It is Saturday night of the club\u2019s opening weekend. Free entry ended at 10 p.m. and the line stretches down the block, past what is affectionately called \u201cpiss alley,\u201d for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2401229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2401228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/New-club-Decibel-opens-in-former-Berlin-space-on-Belmont.com2Fbrightspot2F6d2Faa2Fc62.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2401228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2401230,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401228\/revisions\/2401230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2401229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2401228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2401228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2401228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}