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In the vibrant Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, Bungalow by Middle Brow stands as a testament to innovative hospitality, seamlessly integrating a brewery, winery, bakery, and pizzeria within a sprawling commercial space on West Armitage Road. This multi-faceted establishment has not only captivated the local community but has also charted a course for sustainable growth through a strategic commitment to revenue diversification and an deeply authentic customer experience. Its aged facade, expansive windows, inviting patio adorned with picnic tables, and a charming greenhouse-style covered outdoor dining area collectively exude a welcoming atmosphere, drawing patrons into a unique urban oasis.
The architectural and conceptual design of Bungalow by Middle Brow is central to its appeal. Inside, the industrial footprint has been transformed into a light-filled, open environment characterized by high ceilings and distinct zones that delineate each aspect of the business. The front section immediately engages visitors with a well-appointed bar, a large communal table, beverage coolers, a curated selection of merchandise, and the highly popular soft-serve ice cream machine, signaling a diverse offering from the moment one enters. Moving deeper into the space, the middle section is dominated by an open kitchen, showcasing its triple-deck electric oven and a bustling makeline, complemented by counter seating that invites interaction. This culinary hub flows directly into a spacious dining area, designed to accommodate both intimate meals and larger gatherings. The rear of the building is dedicated to the production facilities, providing a visible and immersive backdrop to the winemaking and beer brewing processes, reinforcing the establishment’s craft ethos.
This intentional design is far from arbitrary; it is a meticulously crafted environment aimed at cultivating a dining experience that resonates deeply with the spirit of its vibrant neighborhood. Co-owner Peter Ternes articulates the guiding philosophy behind Middle Brow’s inspiration, which was drawn from extensive travels. “What can I take from this place that will make my restaurant feel soulful and unique?” he muses. “So, when people came in here the first time, they were like, ‘Oh my God, I feel like I’m discovering something.’ Now you’re selling not just pizza and beer, but you’re also selling discovery. You’re selling status. By which I mean the status that they want isn’t like a money thing. It’s to be the person who discovered the new thing, the thing that feels different.” This insight underscores a profound understanding of modern consumer desires, moving beyond mere product consumption to the fulfillment of experiential and social aspirations.
To further cultivate this sense of discovery and community engagement, Middle Brow actively curates a calendar of distinctive events and programs. These initiatives include hands-on pizza stretching classes, often paired with guided wine tastings, offering an educational and interactive culinary journey. For younger patrons, "pizza play" sessions allow children to unleash their creativity by crafting their own pizzas. The establishment also fosters a loyal following through its "bread club" and hosts special events, such as the highly anticipated New Wine Party, which has featured esteemed guests like Joe Beddia of Philadelphia’s renowned Pizzeria Beddia. Such programming transforms the venue from a simple dining spot into a dynamic community hub where patrons become integral participants in the Middle Brow narrative.
The journey to establishing Bungalow by Middle Brow was a protracted one, reflecting the tenacity of its founders: Peter Ternes, his wife Polly Nevins, and Bryan Grohnke. Their vision for a permanent home in Logan Square culminated in the leasing of a previously dark and uninviting building. Ternes recalls the initial state: “We got this building we leased, and it was just pitch black. It was no windows anywhere, and so we put a bunch of windows in it everywhere and made it really bright and open to the natural light. We designed a very tight brewery in the back. We decided to open as a brew pub, and it would be a pizza brew pub.” This transformation, which opened its doors in January 2019, marked the end of an arduous, seven-year period during which Middle Brow operated as nomadic brewers, constantly relocating between six or seven different facilities each month. This prolonged period of displacement, while challenging, also allowed them to forge deep connections within the brewing community and cultivate a dedicated following, setting the stage for the anticipated fanfare that greeted their permanent establishment.
Upon its opening, Middle Brow quickly cemented its reputation, not only for its craft beverages but also for its exceptional pizza. The initial success was so significant that food volume, driven by the popularity of pizza and bakery items, rapidly shifted the revenue split, with food now accounting for a substantial 60% of onsite sales, while beverages make up the remaining 40%. This unexpected but welcome shift highlighted the potent synergy between high-quality culinary offerings and a robust beverage program.
Culinary Cornerstones: Pizza, Bakery, and Beyond
The Neapolitan-inspired sourdough pizza at Middle Brow has become a shining star, resonating deeply with the Logan Square community and beyond. The establishment’s commitment to a farm-to-table philosophy is evident in its meticulous sourcing of ingredients. For instance, the organic flour used in their dough is milled by a family farm in Wisconsin, ensuring both quality and regional authenticity. The pizza menu is a dynamic canvas for local toppings, curated into imaginative and compelling combinations. A notable example is the "Sunny Honey" pizza, featuring a harmonious blend of mozzarella, goat tomme, sungold tomatoes, tropea onion, tarragon, SBP (likely referring to black pepper), and a drizzle of honey, showcasing a sophisticated yet approachable flavor profile.
Diversifying its pizza offerings, Middle Brow introduces a weekly special event known as "Tavern Tuesdays." On this day, the signature Neapolitan-style pizza temporarily gives way to the quintessential Chicago favorite: Tavern style pizza. This thin-crust, crispy-edged delicacy is meticulously prepared to achieve an extra cracker crunch, a hallmark of the genre. Tavern Tuesdays consistently feature a rotating special pizza, keeping the menu fresh and exciting for regulars. A recent special, the "Broccolini Arrabiata," exemplified this creativity with its arrabiata cream base, broccolini, Jimmy Nardello peppers, aged gouda, and a vibrant habanada-citrus vinaigrette.
Beyond pizza, Middle Brow’s food program extends to a highly popular bagel, pastry, and breakfast selection, catering to morning crowds and expanding its appeal across different dayparts. The broader menu also includes fresh salads, artisanal breads, and sandwiches crafted from their versatile pizza dough, demonstrating a resourceful and integrated approach to ingredient utilization.
Beverage Innovation: Crafting a Diverse Portfolio
Middle Brow’s commitment to experimentation extends equally to its beverage program. While initially known for its brewing prowess, the company ventured into winemaking after its opening, officially beginning wine distribution in 2023. Their natural wines are crafted from grapes farmed in Michigan, utilizing native yeasts and eschewing commercial yeast, fining agents, and filtration. This natural winemaking approach celebrates the unique terroir and varietal characteristics, drawing from a diverse palette of cold-climate hybrids such as Vidal Blanc, Traminette, Marechal Foch, Frontenac, Noiret, Cayuga, Seyval Blanc, Marquette, and Chambourcin. The list also includes aromatic Gewürztraminer and a semi-carbonic field blend featuring Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, showcasing both experimental grapes and classic varietals.
The brewery remains just as adventurous, continually offering a playful yet sophisticated range of craft beers. Current selections span crisp Kolsch variations, including one dry-hopped with grapefruit and Sabro, a spiced Belgian witbier, a vibrant blackberry and passion fruit sour, a soft, melon-forward pale ale, and a garden-fermented wild saison. This tap list demonstrates Middle Brow’s dedication to clean, fruit-driven, and subtly funky beer styles, appealing to a broad spectrum of palates.
Further enriching its alcohol program, Middle Brow crafts house-made shrubs and a selection of spirit-forward cocktails. Classics like the rye Old Fashioned are offered alongside unique creations, such as a three-rum blend. The cocktail menu is deepened by regional whiskeys and a thoughtful array of bitter and herbal amari from local producers like Zissou, Letherbee, and Faccia Brutto. Crucially, the program also features elevated non-alcoholic drinks, offering sophisticated takes on classics like the Paloma, amaro Negroni, and Dark and Stormy, ensuring depth and versatility for all patrons, regardless of their beverage preference.
Scaling Operations: The Commissary and Future Expansion
The remarkable success of Middle Brow’s food program, coupled with its thriving winery and brewery operations, eventually led to the physical limitations of its original Logan Square building. The demand for pizza, in particular, outstripped the available production space, with the dough mixer famously residing in the dish room. Recognizing the need for scalable growth, the team began exploring offsite solutions.
In early 2025, Middle Brow took a significant step by establishing an offsite bakery. This new facility serves a dual purpose: a dedicated bakery operation and a crucial commissary for pizza dough production. The controlled environment of the offsite bakery is designed to ensure consistency in dough quality, a critical factor for high-volume operations. Looking ahead, Ternes revealed plans to introduce a customer-facing retail component to the offsite bakery, further expanding Middle Brow’s reach and product offerings.
The commissary was specifically built to accommodate a full-scale bakery operation, featuring a bread oven, industrial-sized tables, and a mixer capable of handling 250-kilogram batches of dough. Ternes elaborated on the strategic design of the facility: “We have a proofing box. We have an extremely powerful HVAC system, which we didn’t look for, but we’re very lucky to have because we can remove moisture from the air pretty quickly if we need to, or less quickly if we don’t want to. [We have] a ton of space for a really large cooler. Because of how much tavern we do, we want to cure at a cold temperature. It was a space intensive decision.” This meticulous planning underscores their commitment to precision and quality, especially for their popular Tavern style pizza, which benefits from cold-curing.
The new space has allowed the team to significantly refine and dial in their dough production process. Ternes explains their approach: “We add a little bit of poolish, but we let the fermentation take a pretty mellow curve. We keep tabs on conditions, humidity, and temperatures in the room. But it’s very, very intuitive.” This blend of scientific monitoring and intuitive understanding is key to their consistent product quality.
Reinvestment and expansion are not limited to Chicago. Ternes also shared details of an exciting project underway in Sawyer, Michigan. In July, Middle Brow teased its Instagram followers with design renderings accompanied by the caption: “a cottage. by middle brow. coming to sawyer. soon.” This project, currently gaining momentum in development, will be a winery-focused iteration of the Middle Brow concept. Ternes confirmed its offerings: “We’ll be doing a winery version of this concept. So pizza, bagels, ice cream, wine.” This expansion into Michigan, a prime grape-growing region, strategically aligns with their growing winemaking venture and further diversifies their geographical footprint and revenue streams.
Strategic Growth: Storytelling and Investment
The remarkable growth of Middle Brow, both in terms of customer base and investor confidence, has been significantly propelled by strategic storytelling. Peter Ternes, with his background as a lawyer, highlights the critical role of narrative in business development. “The crafting the narrative I think was a big part of it,” he states. “Being able to tell a story about what success would look like here, and to walk people around and show them, and I think they just kind of viscerally understood.” This ability to articulate a compelling vision allowed potential investors to not just see a business plan, but to feel the potential for success and connection.
The founders skillfully leveraged this storytelling prowess, along with the deep relationships and personal connections forged during their years as nomadic brewers, to secure financing for Middle Brow’s development. They tapped into a network of what Ternes referred to as "Class B investors"—individuals who lent money and acquired equity in the business. Crucially, this funding model allowed the founding partners to maintain over 50% ownership of the company, ensuring their original vision and control. This approach speaks to the power of trust and long-standing relationships in securing capital, particularly for ventures that might not fit traditional investment profiles.
The Human Element: Employees as the Core
As Middle Brow continues its impressive trajectory of growth and expansion, the dedication and consistency of its 75 employees, spread across the main Logan Square shop and the new offsite bakery, are paramount to its high-volume operations. Ternes emphasizes that the prosperity of the business is inextricably linked to the well-being and treatment of its staff. He underscores the importance of paying above-market wages, implementing policies that limit manager hours to promote work-life balance, and focusing on developing robust operational systems. “I honestly just think it’s focusing on treating people well, paying people well, and being more systems oriented as we can be,” he concludes. This employee-centric philosophy is not merely a matter of ethics but a strategic business decision that fosters staff retention, reduces turnover, and ensures the consistent, high-quality service and product delivery that define the Middle Brow experience.
In essence, Middle Brow’s journey from nomadic brewers to a multi-concept culinary and beverage anchor in Logan Square, with ambitious plans for further expansion, offers a compelling blueprint for modern hospitality. Their success is rooted in a clear vision, a commitment to quality, innovative diversification, deep community engagement, and a profound respect for their team. By continuously evolving and reinvesting in their operations, Middle Brow demonstrates how authenticity, creativity, and strategic business acumen can converge to create a truly thriving enterprise in a competitive urban landscape.
