Blue Moon Bar and Grill "The Bloody Bucket"

The infamous Blue Moon Bar and Grill or "The Bloody Bucket" on Jay Street was a bar in Englewood. In the 1950s it had gained reputation for violence, including fights, stabbings, and shootings.

In the 1970s, the controversy surrounding the Blue Moon Tavern in Englewood grew out of urban renewal, racial tension, and neighborhood resistance to change. The Blue Moon, a long-standing bar owned by the DiBlasio family, was forced to close when its Jay Street location was demolished as part of the Humphrey-William Street redevelopment project. After losing the original site, the owners sought to transfer the Blue Moon liquor license to a new bar called the F&A Lounge at 5 West Hudson Avenue in the Third Ward. That proposal sparked intense opposition from nearby residents, who sent letters and petitions to City Hall expressing fears about noise, parking, crime, and the presence of “loitering youths.” Although rarely stated outright, the objections were closely tied to the fact that the Blue Moon had a largely Black clientele, and many residents feared that this crowd would follow the license into their neighborhood. City officials were caught between claims of protecting neighborhood quality of life and arguments that the DiBlasio family was being unfairly denied the chance to reopen after being displaced by redevelopment. The dispute revealed how liquor licensing and zoning were used as tools of exclusion and highlighted the broader struggles Englewood faced in the 1970s over race, redevelopment, and who was considered welcome in shared public spaces.

"Blue Moon's old shadow dims bar license hopel." The Record, July 19, 1973

"Bloody Bucket To Get Another Swish In Court." The Record, 10 Oct. 1945, p.3

"Englewood Tavern's License is Suspended For 40 Days." The Record, 16 May 1944, p. 9.

1936?

Businesses

"Blue Moon Inn Bar and Grill." The Record, 11 July, 1936, p. 7.