A new Saved By The Bell-themed diner and bar is coming to Chicago’s Wicker Park to help you relive your childhood ’90s nostalgia, reports the Chicagoist.
The venue, called Saved By The Max, will be modeled after the Max Diner that the high school students from the cheesy ’90s show frequented for burgers, fries, shakes, and teenage shenanigans. It is reportedly not connected to NBC, which aired the program, nor the production company Rysher Entertainment. But it’s sure to dredge up some nostalgia, and maybe even attract a guest star or two. What is Lark Voorhies up to these days, anyway?
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Menu items will be named after all the most popular characters, including Zack Morris (Mark Paul Gosselaar), Kelli Kapowski (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley), Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), and Screech Powers (Dustin Diamond). You can feast on fare like AC sliders, or Jessie-inspired preppy BLTS. And there will also be alcoholic beverages based on show themes in which you can indulge. (Maybe a Brick Phone Beer, Belding Bellini, or Freeze Frame French Martini?)
For the super-fans, if you show up in a show-themed costume, you could win $100 as a daily prize. Cue the stone-washed jeans and neon tank tops.
Saved By The Bell ran for four seasons from 1989 through 1993, and inspired two short-lived follow-up series: Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Gosselaar has since starred in a string of TV series, most recently in TNT’s Franklin & Bash, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and the low-rated, potentially-cancelled NBC show Truth Be Told. Lopez is currently a host for entertainment news program Extra. Thiessen had a lead role in Beverly Hills 90210 from 1994-2000. Last February, all of the characters, with the exception of the troubled Diamond, reprised their roles for a hilarious skit on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
TV-themed pop-up shops are a growing trend. In Toronto, a Friends-themed Central Perk pop-up coffee shop is set to open this summer, along with a Seinfeld-themed bar. A Central Perk replica shop already opened for a limited time in New York City back in 2014, in celebration of the show’s 20th anniversary. A Game of Thrones replica Iron Throne also made its way to Toronto last April, giving fans a perfect photo op to display their devotion to the show.
The Saved By The Max pop-up diner and bar is set to open on June 1, though the exact location has not yet been disclosed. Follow the Twitter account for upcoming details.
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