Second Story opened in 1984 above Sayat-Nova restaurant in Streeterville, accessible through an unmarked door near the restaurant entrance and up a flight of carpeted stairs. John Tessler founded it as a way to honor Tower Town's queer history in a neighborhood that was rapidly changing around it.

It's cash only, the prices are honest, and the bartenders are excellent. A small, divey gay bar that has been welcoming the same kind of crowd for forty years without needing to advertise.