The Back Door
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Coral takes readers back to the
70's, 80's and 90's with 'The Back Door'.
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An Excerpt From The Back Door...
Postcard Provided Digitally By Greg Dietrich
"When I started working on this book, Milan Hrazdilek, the owner of the Metro, gave me a postcard from the early days of The Back Door. On the back was printed, “The Back Door Dining Discoe. (Rear entrance of Metro Tavern) Enjoy the nightclub atmosphere of the 1930’s. Try our unique Chicago style deep-dish pizza – the untouchable taste you can’t refuse.”
On the front was an image of the “discoe” itself. The picture includes a faux marble table with a drink on it underneath a beautiful orange flower petal tiffany lamp. It shows the bar covered in black vinyl cushioning and tons of mirrors. Bamboo chairs sit on a lush red and black swirl carpet. Milan’s wife Karla stands in front of the bar chatting and laughing with Milan. His business partner Oliver Gunovsky is sitting in conversation with a young waitress. There’s a couple seated at a side split level booth off the tiny dance floor. To Milan’s chagrin, in the late 80’s, I once plotted out The Back Door history in a publication I was writing for. I was not the only one. In one university publication, much to Milan’s chagrin, someone else surmised that the little bar endured “more facelifts than Phyllis Diller.” The article was right. After all, I had experienced many of its multiple identities firsthand. The Back Door did not begin as a punk or new wave bar. Far from it."
On the front was an image of the “discoe” itself. The picture includes a faux marble table with a drink on it underneath a beautiful orange flower petal tiffany lamp. It shows the bar covered in black vinyl cushioning and tons of mirrors. Bamboo chairs sit on a lush red and black swirl carpet. Milan’s wife Karla stands in front of the bar chatting and laughing with Milan. His business partner Oliver Gunovsky is sitting in conversation with a young waitress. There’s a couple seated at a side split level booth off the tiny dance floor. To Milan’s chagrin, in the late 80’s, I once plotted out The Back Door history in a publication I was writing for. I was not the only one. In one university publication, much to Milan’s chagrin, someone else surmised that the little bar endured “more facelifts than Phyllis Diller.” The article was right. After all, I had experienced many of its multiple identities firsthand. The Back Door did not begin as a punk or new wave bar. Far from it."
