08/05/2026
Long before Hopleaf, the Map Room, Goose Island, The Great Beer Palace and the hundreds of tap rooms and craft beer bars we know today, there was Quenchers. For 39 years prior to its closing in 2018, Quenchers featured the beers of the world. Quenchers was the brainchild of Earl Johnson, a true publican's publican. Earle worked hard to offer beers from faraway places that were not easily available in the Chicago marketplace. If you went on vacation to Argentina, Vietnam, New Zealand, Greece, Lebanon or Bulgaria and wanted another taste of a beer you had there, chances are, Quencher's had it.
When he retired, he sold the building and the fixtures and it is now a medical clinic. That's just as well because there could never be a Quenchers without Earle. The place was not fancy, nor was it quite a "dive bar" either. I loved the ancient wooden with glass door coolers that may have predated Prohibition. It was one of, if not the first Chicago watering hole where the main conversations were about the beer. Many of Chicago's brewing pioneers planned their futures over pints there.
Quenchers also had a side room where hundreds of aspiring bands, solo artists and comedians performed. Free popcorn and a few sandwiches and chili were the extent of the food offerings. There really isn't anyplace like Quencher's today.
After Earle's retirement he stopped by at Hopleaf occasionally. He did some traveling until recently when his health began to fail. Sadly shortly after coming home from his last hospital stay, Earle passed. He was 83.
RIP Earle Johnson. Chicago will not forget you.
Photo: Hopleaf 2023. Earle Johnson, Michael Roper and John Freyer
