They don't make bars like the Time Out Tavern these days, and in the future they never will — making this low-key little haunt in Highland Park something to celebrate and cherish.

Located at 5101 W. Lovers Ln., Time Out is a bar-bar, meaning that it isn't required to serve food to stay open but instead can derive all of its income from the sale of liquor. That kind of bar is no longer allowed in Highland Park, but Time Out is one of two — along with Inwood Tavern — still allowed to operate that way.

The bar has changed hands a few times in its history, but since 2015 has been owned by Aaron Saginaw, who was a customer, then tended bar there, making him more than familiar with its long history and tradition. He's been careful to leave things as they are: a comfortable low-key sports bar that welcomes all walks of life.

“We have people who have been coming in since before I worked here," Saginaw says. "There's people who say, 'I met my wife here.' 'I tried to sneak in when I was underage.' We have people who make a million and guys who cut their grass."

That includes celebrities although Saginaw is reluctant to name names. However, regulars know they might spot personalities like Tony Romo, Clayton Kershaw, Jordan Spieth, Troy Aikman, Mike Modano, or Brett Hull, grateful to find a place where they can just be normal.

“I don't want to say it's a celebrity hangout," Saginaw says. "If they do come in, they're not here to get recognized. it's a place they can be and people more or less leave them alone."

Saginaw, who attended the University of Missouri, has family food & beverage connections including his sister Sara who owns Swirled Peace, the vegan soft-serve ice cream shop in Oak Cliff, and his cousin Paul Saginaw, co-founder of the famed Zingerman's Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Aaron also worked in the bar industry for a decade at places like Whiskey Cake.

"Time Out is not a 'yessir, nosir' bar," he says. “We’re friendly and safe with good service and it doesn’t matter what you look like or who your daddy is. We don’t care. Everyone is the same."

The bar's greatness has not gone unnoticed, winning awards for best dive bar from the likes of Playboy.com and Travel & Leisure.

Oldest bar in town
The Time Out era started in 1988, when prior owners Al Merry and Kevin McCormack bought what was then a rundown bar called The Doll House from its prior owner. But even before Doll House, it was a bar for most of its lifetime, under names like the Water Main, the Tanglewood, the Sunset, the Inferno. One factor contributing to its survival is its odd location. In addition, the same family has owned the property the entire time.

“We're in a weird little corner,” Saginaw says. “The property is small and there's not a ton you can do with it, so that has helped extend its longevity.”

They had a close call in 2022 when someone drove into their dumpster.

"There was an old building back there — myself and the landlord used the area as storage," Saginaw says. "Someone drove into the building and damaged it. We had two options: we could either rebuild this dilapidated building or tear it down. So that left us with this big open space out back and we figured, we might as well do a little something back here."

And that is how Time Out Tavern came to have a patio.

"We put up a fence and a pergola — we didn't go crazy," he says. "I put up a couple of TVs. It's a weird little oasis. You're in this low-ceilinged sports bar and you go out the back door, and there's trees out there. I also put up a wood bar along the perimeter with stools, so that's another 15-20 seats where you can hang out."

Depending on how you measure it, the Time Out is either the oldest bar in Highland Park or the second-oldest bar in Highland Park.

"The Inwood Tavern opened in 1964, before we did, but it changed locations," Saginaw says. "We're the oldest bar in Highland Park that hasn’t moved."

And while the Inwood Tavern has morphed into a party bar with DJs and karaoke, Time Out remains a neighborhood bar, with its timeworn wood-paneled wall where people staple photos and family announcements.

"Every time you walk in, you see something new, a photo of someone you never noticed before," he says. "It's one of the things I love about the place. I didn’t take it over to change it into something it’s not."