Star of Netflix’s ‘Drink Masters’ opening a cocktail bar in Itasca

An internationally renowned mixologist is opening a new high-concept, one-of-a-kind cocktail bar in a very unlikely spot in a seemingly even more unlikely suburb.

Tao Zrafi, who viewers of Netflix’s “Drink Masters” may remember as a Season 1 finalist, is set to open No School Tomorrow on the campus of the Itasca Country Club Thursday, April 18.

Not only had he never heard of Itasca before last year, “I’d never even been inside a country club before this,” he said.

As the name suggests, No School Tomorrow (NST) has a fun, playful school theme that Zrafi said he’s been developing for years. In all directions the space features throwback nods to 1990s-era classrooms, including a cocktail menu presented in steel lunchboxes with drinks inspired by science class, recess and more school-day nostalgia. The name also reflects the euphoric feeling they hope to replicate of knowing you have tomorrow off.

Zrafi, known as @travelingbartenders to his 68,000 Instagram followers as a nod to his globe-trotting lifestyle, has worked mainly as a consultant since gaining fame on “Drink Masters” while looking for the right opportunity to open his first brick-and-mortar bar.

“For the past 15 years that I’ve been working in the industry, I’ve always written bar concept ideas for that one day where I will be a bar owner and use one of them,” he said. “This bar has existed in my mind for a long time.”

Zrafi is partnering with Itasca developer Larry Swets on this and some other upcoming ventures. While Itasca may seem like an unlikely destination, both Zrafi and Swets said it’s an easy drive from other suburbs and the country club is just a block from the Metra station for city dwellers and others along the train line.

“There is a need here,” Zrafi said. “I don’t think it’s fair that only people in the city have all these places that are on the list of best cocktail bars.”

Swets, who is managing partner of the Itasca Country Club complex, watched “Drink Masters” with his family when it debuted and developed a real appreciation for the complexity the contestants showed when making cocktails.

As he and his wife were planning an event for their 20th wedding anniversary, he really wanted to hire a mixologist from the Chicago area who could bring the artistry he saw on the show. When he couldn’t find anyone who fit the bill, he went looking for Zrafi.

“He was the most interesting guy from the show, he seemed authentic, and if there was anything that I wanted to taste, it was his drinks from the show,” he said.

After initially explaining to Swets that he doesn’t do events, Zrafi eventually acquiesced while also doing some consulting work with Swets on the cocktail program at the Fox & Turtle restaurant in the country club.

That led to the two deciding to take the partnership further and develop an unused portion of a building on the country club campus that formerly served as dormitories for workers.

While the setting and decor may be a throwback, the cocktails won’t be. Chicago has a number of great bars geared toward classic cocktails, Zrafi said. This won’t be that.

“Lots of places are geared toward simple, simple simple. We don’t have things here that are simple,” he said. “But we don’t have things that are complicated. We call them complex.”

Drinks like the BLT Cocktail feature sourdough-infused vodka, smoked rye whiskey, triple lettuce syrup and Roma tomato acid. A bubble gum cocktail is made with Hubba Bubba distillate, clarified banana syrup, clarified strawberry acid and rhubarb liqueur.

If his drinks sound like they require a laboratory, they do.

Zrafi and Swets built a “lab” in the back, with tools like a centrifuge and any other toy a bartender could want. They’ll do the more complicated, time-consuming preparations for their intricate cocktails beforehand in the back so bartenders can engage with guests while making drinks in a more timely fashion.

Guests will get to see some of the cocktail science in action with a rotary evaporator, or rotovap, working in the bar.

For those who are a little less adventurous, the cocktail menu also features a section called “Classics We Love,” with elevated versions of more well-known drinks like margaritas, Negronis, martinis and more.

Born in Tunisia, Zrafi moved to Canada at 20 to study interior design. Despite not having a sip of alcohol until he was 23, he found a passion for making cocktails and soon made a name for himself in the Montreal bar scene. His bold style, both in drinks and fashion, earned him a spot in the debut season of “Drink Masters,” where he ultimately came up just short in the finals.

NST represents the culmination of his journey since those early days. He curated everything in the bar, from the branding to the furniture to the glassware to the kinds of ice they’ll use.

The bar will start off being open from 5 p.m. until midnight Thursdays through Saturdays. The midnight closing time was nonnegotiable, according to Zrafi.

“Our slogan is nothing good happens after midnight. So no matter how busy we are, that’s one thing that will never change,” he said. “We see cocktails as a luxury experience and we want you to taste it. I don’t want you to just pay me to get more drunk.”

Zrafi looks forward to being behind the bar.

“I’m so happy,” he said. “The bar right now is everything to me. It’s my baby. I’m just excited to share this vision and actual high-concept good drinks. We want people to let their guards down and feel like they’re in a place that takes them back to their childhood.”

For more information, email nst@taologygroup.com or visit their Instagram @noschooltomorrow.bar.