Ever walked down Daniel Street past the dark, always vacant building called C.O. Daniels? This former Champaign bar stood for “Cochran on Daniels,” and it closed due to too many drinking violations, and honestly, just lots of violations in general. 

An anonymous alumna of University of Illinois, said the bar was nothing but a good time when it was open. He said that the drinks were dirt cheap, and most of the time, completely free. He recalls the bar being the place to go when you were a freshman, because carding rules just didn’t apply.

“I got in there whenever I wanted as a freshman. My friends and I would go in packs of 20 and use one I.D. and just pass it back. One time, a guy in our frat at the door gave up and didn’t even ask for an ID. This is why the bar came under fire. They ticketed like 50, not exaggerating, kids under 19 one night and the city of Champaign was like, okay, you just can’t do that,” the alumna said.

It is speculated that Cochrane, who is also the known owner of The Red Lion and Cly’s, did not really fight hard to keep it open because the bar wasn’t really profitable. “Everyone knew a bartender, everything was free,” said the alumna.

Similar to Wine Night, Country Night, Monday Night Joes and Senior Night, C.O. Daniels was known for having “Bomb Night” where they served cheap surgery drinks with lots of alcohol. This was a popular night among athletes because they could get in for free, and a lot of people went because they enjoyed mingling with the athletes.

A former bartender for Firehaus described C.O. Daniels as a fun, but very rowdy, place. “People literally smoked squares on the dance floor and managers would hook up with girls on their shift. Anyone got hired, it was a free-for-all,” he said.

The bar was set up similar to Kam’s, with a main bar and then another bar in the basement. There was also alleged cocaine use in the basement, the anonymous alumna said.

It truly is depressing that now a once wild, fun bar sits vacant. Students at U of I today will never know what the inside of C.O. Daniels looks like, and it doesn’t seem that C.O.’s will ever opening again. The Champaign Police Department has made it much more difficult on bars, enforcing stricter underage drinking penalties and frequently having coverts.

But, the countless memories of C.O. Daniels will never be forgotten. The alumna recounts that “it was the place in Champaign that truly had no rules, everyone loved it.”