Sugarbakers Cocktail Lounge in Lena brings unique cocktails, martinis to northwest Illinois

LENA — Even if you tried a different drink every day at Sugarbakers Cocktail Lounge in Lena, it’d take you the better part of a year to get through its entire menu.

Lena is the kind of quaint little spot on the map — about 3,000 people at last count — where you probably wouldn’t expect to find such a long list of libations, but with around 200 different drinks in the mix, Sugarbakers can find something to fill anyone’s glass, whether it’s a wine glass, shot glass, beer glass or martini glass. Straight up, on the rocks, neat, or shaken not stirred — you call it and the spirits will be willing.

Manager Becky Ozburn and her bartenders serve up cocktails, martinis, wines, beer and more at the business that originally opened in 2019 as a wine and boutique business. Since taking over as manager in December 2023, Ozburn has changed things around and added to the mix. Gone is the boutique, having made way for the cocktail lounge, where more than 60 cocktails and over 20 martinis are served, along with 60 different wines, and just as many bourbons, by the bottle, glass or flight. Seasonal cocktails are also available from time to time, such as a recent selection of Christmas martinis.

“You bring a martini out such as the peanut butter cup,” Ozburn said. “And they’ll see the swirls of chocolate and the whipped cream as you’re mixing it, and they’re like ‘Wow!’

“If one person has it, it takes off and someone else will want it. They get mesmerized by you whipping that up and creating it, and then when they taste it, they’ll be like, ‘Holy cow, that tasted like a peanut butter cup!’” she said. “It’s always fun to hear them say that.”

Martinis have been selling just as much as the wines, Ozburn said.

“They are the big thing with people young and old. It’s classy. They like the mixes and like to see us make them, especially when they’re fun and different. They’re fun and exciting.”

Customers can kick back and relax with a drink in a lounge that offers seating at the bars, tables or in comfy sofas, an inviting atmosphere to share a drink with friends. There are two bar areas, one by the bourbon selection, and the main one up front with the counter made from floorboards salvaged from the building’s prior tenant, a bowling alley.

The lounge also hosts special events — recent offerings include a Christmas Vintage Ceramics Workshop and White Elephant Christmas Pajama party — and occasional music acts.

Sugarbakers’ expanded drink menu has brought more people through the door, including those who weren’t into the whole “boutique” vibe, Ozburn said.

“The women who sit and drink and want to have their guys in here, too — in order for them to stay, that’s why we added that,” Ozburn said. “They love it. Now the guys come in and have their bourbons and the women come have their martinis.”

Sugarbakers sources its wine selection from near and far, both domestics and imports. Some come from Chicago suburbs, such as Lynfred Winery’s fruit and dessert wines from Roselle, and some have come cross-country, from the West Coast. Others have quite a few miles on them, coming from around the world, including Argentina, France, Germany, Italy and New Zealand, each ready to satisfy the most discerning palate.

“My customers are looking for exclusives and upscale ones,” Ozburn said. “They want that good cabernet, they want that good chardonnay, they want something that packs a punch. We’re taking them up a notch, and people are loving it. They may be a little more costly, but I tell them that they are going to get what they pay for, and I have no problem selling it.”

There’s even a couple of nonalcoholic wines, too.

“You wouldn’t even know that it is nonalcoholic,” Ozburn said. “I’ve poured it for a few people without saying anything about it and they said it was really good.”

With its impressive selection, Sugarbakers has attracted a growing number of kindred spirits who’ve come to appreciate the variety and atmosphere that this Lena lounge offers.

“We get people who walk in here and are just in awe,” Ozburn said. “One of the first things they say to us is that this is something that should be down in Chicago. They don’t expect this, and they’re getting that upscale feel, and that’s what I want them to feel when they walk through the door.”

Sugarbakers Cocktail Lounge, 141 W. Railroad St. in Lena, is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday.

Find it on Facebook or call 815-369-9990 for more information.