There’s a nice bar in Peoria Heights that I think is a somewhat hidden gem. It’s a little off the beaten path on Lake Avenue and it’s the Peoria Heights VFW Post 2602.

Some people don’t know that this VFW Post is open to the public and everyone is welcome to stop by and enjoy this neighborhood tavern and meeting place.

To prove this point, we’re going there tonight and make Peoria Heights VFW Post 2602 our 176th stop of this 365 bars tour!

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Bar Number 176: Peoria Heights VFW Post 2602, Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Here we are at the Peoria Heights VFW Post 2602! I love the mural on this wall and there it is in all of its glory!

Check out the comfortable patio area in the back with picnic benches and there’s the entrance. Let’s go in and see what’s happening inside.

There’s a nice bar in here and there’s some open seats. Let’s snag one and get our first beer of the evening.

Bartender Matt served me up an ice-cold can of Pabst Blue Ribbon with a nice smile. And of course that leads us to giving a cheers to our in-house Pabst Blue Ribbon enthusiast: Chad Wallace! Cheers, Chad, this Pabst is for you!

There’s the back of the well-stocked bar and the quartet of beers on tap back there.

Eric came over and said hi to me and the two of us worked at Fleming Potter back in the day! It was great to see him again and Eric’s the bar manager here and the Quartermaster for the Post.

Eric took me to this back room which is a dining area and an…

Art gallery!

The walls are covered with art and photos in here and it’s all done by veterans. This is so cool!

This is just a small sampling of some of the fabulous art and photography on display in here. Just like the bar, it’s open to the public, so you should definitely stop by and check it out. It’s part of the 22 VA group of Veteran Artists.

They also support the group, Flutes For Vets Of Central Illinois and have portraits of some of the members on the walls in here. Very nice!

There’s a pool table in this back room over here next to the bar.

They also have a full kitchen and food available here.

The food service is taking a break right now, but will be back starting back on August 11th. They have a weekly Taco Tuesday night and on Fridays they have various menu items to choose from. Both nights the kitchen is open from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.

Here’s two posters featuring the two girls softball teams they sponsor, The VFW Yellow Jackets and The Peoria Sluggers. The Post also sponsors, Troop 28 Boy Scouts and Troop 3028 Cub Scouts.