The longtime Palatine gastropub and concert venue Durty Nellie’s is preparing for a significant downsizing in the same location at 180 N. Smith St.
Co-owners Jim and Mark Dolezal moved into the site twenty years ago, creating a lively hangout spot with a music scene. While the business has been in the family’s hands since 1988, the Dolezals brothers are ready to start a new, smaller chapter in the bar’s history. The venue is planned to be razed next year and replaced with a six-story, 85-unit apartment building, according to the Daily Herald. When the development is completed next year, it will include three ground-floor retail spaces, with a 4,000-square-foot spot saved for a Durty Nellies.
The brothers announced the proposal last month, with plans to include a 1,600-square-foot rooftop Biergarten, which they will also own and operate. Jim tells What Now Chicago the bar will stay open until construction is ready to begin next year. Until then, he expects to continue to host events and celebrations, including next year’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities. While plans are still in its early stages, Jim says he expects the project to be completed in a year or possibly a year and a half.
Downsizing from nearly 18,000 square feet to less than a quarter of that size will have some clear effects on the business, but the owners are hopeful this move will be an opportunity to “get back to the roots” of the company, according to Jim. The original Durty Nellies opened on St. Patrick’s Day 1972 at 55 N. Bothwell Street in the former home of a stable, a speak-easy, a bowling alley, and an ice cream parlor. Developer Jonathan Payne and architect Jim Tinaglia will now help the brothers create a re-imagined Durty Nellie’s with less space to fill.
