Elgin police chief updates city on Road House

The Road House Bar and Main Event - the newest addition to Elgin's downtown bar scene - has hit a few bumps in the road, but officials are hopeful for a smooth ride from here on after they can iron out the kinks.

"I think this is going to be a growing pain scenario for us," said Elgin Councilman John Prigge. "I'm hopeful something can be worked out."

Council members in November granted a 4 a.m. liquor license - the latest allowed in the city other than the Grand Victoria Casino - to Road House owner Ed Mascari.

The bar, grill and special events area for kickboxing and concerts filled a void in downtown that was created when Prairie Rock Brewery, 127 S. Grove Ave., shut down in early 2009.

The license allows the Road House to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 a.m. Sunday through Thursday.

Wednesday night, Police Chief Lisa Womack updated council members on the Road House, which opened Dec. 11.

Womack said police have been called to the bar 36 times, but 18 of those calls were initiated by Elgin police officers themselves for actions such as liquor compliance checks. The bar passed all checks, she said.

Eight fights have been reported at the bar and all have been contained inside, Womack said.

Kickboxing and mixed martial arts events have a capacity of 1,200 people, and some people were concerned about noise from disc jockeys and live bands.

Across the street from the Road House are Festival Park and brick rowhomes that have been the centerpiece of efforts to bring more residential development to the downtown area.

Womack said police received five noise complaints last weekend, but three were from the same homeowner.

Before last weekend, officers measured noise levels outside the bar when a band was not playing, and it was between 62 and 68 decibels, mainly because of traffic, and peaked at 85 decibels when a train went by, Womack said. Officers recorded noise of only 62 to 65 decibels later when the band was playing, she said.

"The challenge that we have is it's a high traffic, high train area anyway," Womack said.

Councilman David Kaptain said the city ought to measure noise levels several more times.

The city has several establishments that have 3 a.m. licenses: the Mission, Mad Maggie's and Afterset in downtown Elgin, along with Rookies, Boogie Nights and Village Pizza on Randall Road.

The Grand Victoria Casino has a 22-hour liquor license and is regulated by the state.