Last week when we visited the 1/4-20 Tap in Farmington, we met the owners of a bar in Maquon, Illinois called The Barracks Bar & Grill.

So it only made sense to visit this place on our weekly road trip with my friend and driver of these road trips, Jim/Karl.

And so it’s off to Maquon we go!

——

Bar Number 253: The Barracks Bar & Grill, Wednesday, November 4, 2026

There’s Karl behind the wheel in the dark as we head on down the road to Maquon, Illinois, a town we haven’t visited yet on this bar crawl.

And through the magic of these here interwebs, you’re spared a 45 minute drive and we’ve magically arrived in Maquon and here’s our destination: The Barracks Bar & Grill.

There’s Karl at the door, let’s go in and see what’s happening inside of here on this fine Wednesday evening.

There’s a nice pool table here in the front of the bar and there’s the bar next to it.

Let’s grab a seat and get settled in for the evening.

Shelby was the pretty and friendly bartender for the evening and here she is serving me up a can of ice-cold Budweiser.

Barracks is a Minnesota Vikings bar, so of course Karl had to pose with this banner while holding his first drink of the evening.

There’s Jeff, who hosted us last week at his garage bar and he’s the one who introduced us to…

Craig, the owner of Barracks Bar & Grill. Well, actually, Craig is the co-owner because…

It turns out that Shelby is not only the bartender on duty tonight, she’s married to Craig and they are the co-owners of this bar!

They bought the bar last February and they said it’s been going great in here!

I love the wooden back bar in here, very impressive!

Stickers cover the top of the bar and there’s Craig with Scott, who’s a regular in here. This is a really friendly place and it was great to meet everybody in here!

They have a nice menu in here and every Wednesday is Taco Night with $4.00 margaritas!

And since we’re here on a Wednesday…

A plate of tacos have magically appeared at the bar. There’s Karl enjoying them and he said they were fantastic tacos.

The other Karl wished he would’ve ordered up some French fried potaters, but what are you going to do?

There’s gaming machines in this back room and the kitchen is opposite the games.

Here’s a shot from the back of the room in here.

They’ve got a classic framed poster of the 1988 Chicago Bears in the middle of this wall opposite the bar.

This was a fun night at The Barracks Bar & Grill and thanks to the owners, Craig and Shelby for the hospitality. You should definitely stop by and check this place out, it’s a true destination bar and grill.

Thanks to Jim/Karl for driving and hanging out again!

——