Chris Knight, proprietor of one of Champaign’s most popular bars, The Blind Pig, purchased the Barfly yesterday. The cocktail lounge will, Knight says, be open for business under his ownership tonight.
Barfly, a fairly typical lounge that never quite found its footing as a dance club due to the narrow structure of the space, will remain as is for a while. Knight has plans for the Neil Street locale, including a name change to the Twilight Lounge, after some alterations to the current spot.
“It hasn’t even really been on the market,” Knight says of Barfly.
He and the now-former owner had been talking about the transaction for years. A gentlemen’s agreement, Knight says.
So far, Knight’s ideas for The Twilight Lounge include good wine, good beer and to “get rid of the TV,” along with a pleasant, swanky aesthetic in the vein of an upmarket cocktail lounge.
Knight is no stranger to remodeling locations. After he reinvented the Blind Pig at 120 N. Walnut St., he expanded the Old English-style pub and doubled its size to add more seating.