Three Peas Art Lounge, which on March 6 surpassed a year in business in the South Loop, begs, in its name, at least two definitional issues.

What do the peas stand for and why are there three of them?

And what exactly is an art lounge?

The answers, in order: painting, pottery and photography. And, secondly, according to Three Peas co-founder Chrishon Lampley, “We’re an art gallery. Every two months we switch out our artists and we like to support local and emerging artists, from everything from acrylic to mixed-media to photography,” she said. “And we’re also a top-shelf bar.”

Tucked into a storefront on 16th Street between rushing traffic on Wabash and Michigan, Three Peas occupies a relatively smaller space than many South Loop retail outlets. There’s a bar at the back of the house, a cake under glass atop of it and bottles of red wine and liquor offerings stacked in neat rows on the wall, not to mention coffee and loose-leaf teas. Several soft gray chairs and stools adjacent to them are arranged around the room. On the walls on a recent visit were photographs showing singer Simone N’Dambi vamping on a red-silk-draped bed, imitating Betty Davis, herself a ’70s-era R&B star and Miles Davis’ former wife.

“It’s a more laid-back place than a Starbucks. More lounge-y,” Lampley said. “We looked at it as a living room with a great bar. And of course, our atmosphere. You’re viewing beautiful art.”

Lampley and Broussard met in 2005, introduced by a mutual friend. Within a month of the introduction, they were imagining a business they could open together. Lampley had always wanted to open a high-end night club, while Broussard had been thinking about starting a gallery, one that offered classes and perhaps served baked goods on the side.

Three Peas was meant as a combination as those two ambitions — neither merely a bakery, a gallery, a club, a cafe nor a bar, but a place that offered elements of each. The main business, Broussard said, tends to be private events, like fundraisers or parties.

But Three Peas almost didn’t get off the ground. After a due diligence period where both took bartending classes and researched location and product, Lampley and Broussard started approaching banks. The pitch didn’t initially attract any lenders. In fact, Lampley said they were rejected by 30 different institutions. “I didn’t know there were 30 banks,” she joked. Time and again, they were told no, hearing that the bar business was simply too risky.

“Our argument was … understand we’re an art gallery as well. Every bank we went to said that’s a hot idea but no,” Lampley recalled. Then they circled back to the very first bank they approached. “We went back once we reconfigured our numbers again and found a smaller space. They said, ‘OK. We’ll go for it.’ We were in shock. That took about a year.”

Lampley, 35, lives in North Kenwood and continues working in customer service for a Loop-based fashion company, while Broussard, 31, a Hyde Parker, is full-time at Three Peas. Broussard’s background in the arts — she studied theater at Howard and later Northwestern — while Lampley’s business experience suggested particular roles for both.

“She’s the one who kind of logistically figures out how it could be feasible, and how it could work,” Broussard said of her partner. But Broussard handles much of the outreach to artists. “It’s like creative, logistics, creative, logistics. It’s just back and forth and it works well.”

Lampley and Broussard say they were dead set on opening in the South Loop, even though the first six or seven spaces they looked at weren’t quite right for their purposes. The neighborhood, according to Lampley, has the right access to the Loop, and the North and South Sides. Equally enticing were the condos put up in the real estate boom, and the professionals who’ve bought into them.

“We’re trying to create a new consortium of art collectors, a new group of people who may not understand how valuable art collecting can be,” Broussard said.

Isaac Paul, a consultant who lives in South Shore, drops into Three Peas at least once a week. He joined a book club at the store and attended one of their GOT D.A.M. events at the Zhou Brothers art space on 35th Street in Bridgeport (D.A.M. stands for dance, art and music).

“I’m a firm believe in that anything someone creates bears a stamp of their personalities,” Paul said. “When you’re inside Three Peas, it honestly feels like Maya and Chrishon’s energy, which is very intimate, very chic, always comfortable but still kind of avant garde.”

Since they opened in a recession and lasted out the first year, both owners of Three Peas like their chances.

“We want to be a staple. We don’t want to be a trendy spot,” Lampley said. “We want to be something that will always be there.”

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By Daris Jasper from Pilsen
Posted: 04/02/2010 12:10 PM

Congratulations! On the completing a successful first year and I wish you many more.

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By Rob Latham from Near South Side
Posted: 03/25/2010 4:45 PM

Please note: this place is between Michigan and Wabash, not Indiana. If you're in the area you should definitely stop by. Always a nice, welcoming vibe from the owners.