{"id":498149,"date":"2026-06-27T11:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/498149\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T11:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:46:11","slug":"love-island-usa-watch-parties-have-fans-taking-over-chicago-bars-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/498149\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Love Island USA’ watch parties have fans taking over Chicago bars, restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Screams, laughter and frequent groans could be heard by 8 p.m. inside Parlay Lincoln Park.<\/p>\n

The sports bar was packed with people, mostly millennials and younger, who were brought together by one thing: a particularly raunchy episode of \u201cLove Island USA\u201d that had one of the contestants saying, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Mom and Dad, please just skip past [this] part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peacock\u2019s dating reality TV series, based on the British show \u201cLove Island,\u201d skyrocketed in popularity three years ago. The American version kicked off its eighth season in June, streaming six days a week. <\/p>\n

The show has created such a buzz that many Chicago bars and restaurants have started hosting watch parties, themed nights and trivia \u2014 an effort to capitalize on a loyal and young fan base, at a time when bars are struggling to draw in younger crowds during the week.<\/p>\n

More than a dozen spots have advertised weekly watch parties for \u201cLove Island USA.\u201d Some are selling tickets. Winnie\u2019s Chicago in Old Town sold out of its $16 \u201cLove Island \u201cwatch party tickets for June 2 and June 9, according to its online Eventbrite listing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tacotlan in Hermosa hosts a \u201cLove Island USA\u201d watch party twice a week at its restaurant, 4312 W. Fullerton Ave.<\/p>\n

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Earlier in the summer, some bars dipped their toes into showing other reality shows, like Bravo TV\u2019s \u201cSummer House.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy hour is dead,\u201d Sarai Marban, 24, said. She was at a Love Island watch party Thursday evening at Tacotlan in Hermosa.<\/p>\n

“[Drinking] is too expensive,\u201d her friend Tatiana Solis, 27, said. \u201cI\u2019d rather just come to space like this, where I know it\u2019s BYOB and then support local businesses. And I know the food is going to be fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Gallup<\/a> poll found the percentage of adults who drink alcohol is at 54%, the lowest since it began tracking Americans\u2019 drinking behavior nearly 90 years ago. <\/p>\n

And the 2025 report found young adults have curbed their drinking even more in recent years, falling from 59% in 2023 to now 50%. \u201cThis puts their drinking rate below that of middle-aged and older adults, although fewer in those groups are also claiming to drink than did so two years ago,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n

Much of the decline can be attributed to health concerns, Gallup said. Those surveyed said they\u2019ve cut back because of the physical and mental health ramifications of drinking alcohol. The pullback has led to a growth of sober bars and mocktails<\/a>, especially in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u2018Bring the girlies\u2019<\/p>\n

Duffy\u2019s, a classic sports bar at 420 W. Diversey Parkway, started advertising Tuesday evening Love Island watch parties this year. It even created a special menu, with bottles of wine at half off. There\u2019s also the viral \u201cgirl dinner\u201d menu of a Caesar salad, fries and a martini for $20.<\/p>\n

Olivia Milani, a 24-year-old bartender at Duffy\u2019s, said she helped spearhead the watch party.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Duffy\u2019s] is just a lot of sports. It\u2019s a lot of guys in here, and me and my boss are both big Love Island fans,\u201d Milani said. \u201cWe were talking about how we would love to have a Love Island night to bring the girlies in here, have a more broad range of crowd and just switch it up from just sports, sports, sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business has spiked so much on Tuesdays that Duffy\u2019s added another server each week. Typically, Milani handles the bar by herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always trying to get more people in the door,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of people come in and they have, like, one or two drinks, and you want them to drink more \u2014 within reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sports bar Parlay Lincoln Park<\/a> advertises an $18 \u201cgirl dinner\u201d of Caesar salad and fries, $12 bottomless fries and a cocktail menu that includes a Bombshell Margarita for $12 and a Soul Ties Spritz for $14. A $5 Red Flag shot completes its Love Island exclusive menu.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday night, every seat in Parlay\u2019s large multiroom bar was taken. Customers screamed and yelled for nearly the entirety of the hour-long Love Island episode. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Hannah<\/p>\n

Hannah Singh (left), Sanya Bawa and Esha Patel react to a scene of \u201cLove Island USA,\u201d as part of a watch party at the sports bar Parlay Lincoln Park.<\/p>\n

Arthur Maiorella\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Servers, looking as focused as a marathon runner, weaved through tables holding plates and cocktails from the Love Island-themed menu. Some guests ordered food from the regular menu.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m usually at home in my pajamas, playing the Sims,\u201d Isabel Sikora said. \u201cWe normally don\u2019t do things like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

By 9:30 p.m., about a half hour after the episode finished, a table of four women in their early 20s had racked up a $272 bill. Seven cocktails were ordered, with some meals off Parlay\u2019s regular menu, two pizzas and wings. The final bill also had four orders of bottomless fries.<\/p>\n

Each paid about $68, money that the women said wouldn\u2019t have been spent if not for the Love Island watch party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only drink really when it\u2019s an experience,\u201d Emily Maldonado said. \u201cI feel like businesses are more so moving towards the experience routes \u2014 bar crawls, watch parties, girl dinners \u2014 really kind of catering to having an experience as a memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the room, friends Suzanna Odusote and Laila Crawley ordered specialty cocktails, bottomless fries and a chicken sandwich. The 21-year-olds, who are in Chicago for a summer internship, said a happy hour wouldn\u2019t prompt them to spend as much as an event like a watch party. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like us being here for a while makes us buy food,\u201d Crawley said.<\/p>\n

Karina Leyva, 23, said part of the appeal is watching the show with other people, which creates a sense of community. <\/p>\n

Leyva and her friends started college in 2020, when the pandemic temporarily curbed social activities. Her generation, with the oldest nearing 30 as Gen Z, likes the idea of doing something as a community, even with strangers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also feel like if we can\u2019t be in the [Love Island] villa, we might as well have each other,\u201d she said at Parlay\u2019s watch party.<\/p>\n

World Cup versus \u2018Love Island\u2019<\/p>\n

Guests crowded into the back patio at Tacotlan, a bring-your-own-bottle restaurant known for its quesabirrias. Three televisions were set up around an island-themed bar and about 40 people sat enraptured watching Love Island on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The small restaurant hosts Love Island watch parties twice a week, giving priority to the dating show fans over those looking to watch the World Cup, co-owner Jessica Perjes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we came up with the idea of hosting Love Island in our back patio, I think it was more so not only because we wanted to be fun and exciting again for that crowd … but also because it\u2019s been very difficult for small businesses,\u201d Perjes said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just mine. I think it\u2019s for other restaurants as well. And so this is like, \u2018What else can we do to get people in the community excited and come together and have fun?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Dozens<\/p>\n

Dozens attend a \u201cLove Island USA\u201d watch party at Tacotlan in Hermosa.<\/p>\n

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n

She owns the restaurant with her father, Everado Macias. The family business opened in 2018, with Perjes\u2019 husband and sister, Alexandra Macias, also on staff.<\/p>\n

Perjes said the pandemic was a decent time for the business, but in recent years, it has had to raise prices. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs time goes by, I believe that it\u2019s been more difficult for restaurants, specifically the small restaurants, to stay afloat,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just me. Everyone\u2019s trying to come up with different ways to get these customers through the door, whether it\u2019s a Taco Tuesday deal or a watch party for soccer and this Love Island party. It is very difficult, not only for the restaurants, but for anybody that\u2019s trying to make a living because of what\u2019s going on \u2014 inflation and all of that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said its Love Island events in the last few weeks have helped the business the most.<\/p>\n

Macias said he has no idea what happens on the Fiji-based show and isn\u2019t curious to find out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you know, I don\u2019t even know nothing about all these, but I got surprised that all these people were here,\u201d he said. \u201cI asked [my daughter], \u2018What are they doing here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a pleasant surprise, he said.<\/p>\n

Perjes said she\u2019s been asked if the patio\u2019s TVs can be switched to soccer. Although she wasn\u2019t a fan of Love Island prior to the watch parties, she\u2019s loyal to the show\u2019s fanbase.<\/p>\n

\u201cLove Island has been very supportive,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they\u2019ve been watching, and they\u2019ve been consistent. So the priority is going to be given to Love Island.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Screams, laughter and frequent groans could be heard by 8 p.m. inside Parlay Lincoln Park. The sports bar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-498149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}