Bar Louie opens in Commack with free appetizers

Bar Louie will open on Tuesday, March 8, in Commack, in what had been Chuck E. Cheese on Jericho Turnpike. The national chain bills itself as an “eclectic urban bar,” and, to get the first weekend off to a good start, the Commack location will offer $5.25 martinis and free appetizers (one per person) on March 11 and 12.

There’s more than just the gin martini here. Bar Louie features a menu of martini variations as well as fruit-forward cocktails, margaritas, mojitos, beer selections and wines by the glass, listed as “beautiful blondes,” or “fiery redheads.”

The restaurant will debut with many appetizer choices such as meatballs served in a cast-iron skillet and “pig & pepper sliders,” plus bruschetta, flatbreads, salads, burgers and, among entrees, “drunken fish and chips,” and “voodoo chicken.” Desserts, such as chocolate cake and key lime pie, are served in mason jars.

This is the first Bar Louie to open in Long Island and the fourth in New York — with two in the Rochester area and one in Buffalo.

The first Bar Louie opened in Chicago in 1990. Today, the company is headquartered in Addison, Texas, and operates over 100 locations in 26 states. The company is in the middle of a five-year rapid expansion to add over 100 new corporate and 100 new franchised locations, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. The Long Island location is corporate-owned.

Bar Louie, open for lunch and dinner, is at 2115 Jericho Turnpike in Commack; 631-410-8400, barlouieamerica.com.

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