April 15, 2025
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Heard on the Street: Hideout Lounge opens in Majestic

By Lee Provost
The Hideout Lounge owner, Larry Tapp, center, stands with staff members Kelsey Miller, left, and Lisa Fortin in the newest addition to The Majestic in downtown Kankakee.

The Hideout Lounge owner, Larry Tapp, center, stands with staff members Kelsey Miller, left, and Lisa Fortin in the newest addition to The Majestic in downtown Kankakee. (Tiffany Blanchette)

KANKAKEE – With the name Larry Tapp it would only be natural this Herscher man open a lounge.

And that is just what the 47-year-old Tapp has done.

On March 1, Tapp opened the Hideout Lounge in the basement area of the Majestic property, 150 N. Schuyler Ave., in downtown Kankakee.

He describes the location as a “speakeasy.”

A speakeasy often refers to a somewhat hidden establishment, known particularly during the Prohibition era, that illegally sold alcoholic beverages, often hidden behind unmarked doors or disguised as a business.

Tapp, aptly named to operate such a business, does not plan to be hidden to the public, but he said the interior will certainly be dark as the interior has been painted gray, black and a splash of white.

He said the paint covers over the greens and orange colors which had been used when the location was a second location for Grant Park-based Flanagan’s Irish Pub.

The Hideout Lounge features live rock or country music every Friday and Saturday, Tapp said. Live music runs from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The bar is open from 4-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday.

“The overall goal is to make it a music hub for Kankakee County,” Tapp said.

The Hideout Lounge will have eight varieties of beer on tap, but the site specializes in Old Fashioned drinks, he said.

“Old Fashioneds will be the calling card,” he said.

Tapp has a staff of six part-time employees, and he can also be found behind the bar serving drinks and cooking pizzas.

There will be a wide assortment of other mixed beverages as well.

The business will also offer what he labeled “bar pizzas,” which are frozen 14-inch pizzas produced by Champion Pizza in Joliet.

Tapp was with John’s Pub for about 10 years when it was across Armour Road from CSL Behring. He is also president of the Bradley-Bourbonnais Sportsman’s Club in Bourbonnais.