Photograph: Travis Frangie It always amazes me how many great restaurants and bars are born out of pure serendipity. “I wasn’t really in the market for opening a bar,” laughs Nick Kokonas, when asked about his new spot, Belmont Tavern. But after a deal for a café space near his home fell through, he happened to walk by a for-lease sign at the Belmont Tavern (3405 W. Belmont Ave.). Flash forward about a year and a half, and the newly refreshed bar is opening this month.