Weekly cruise night headed to Palatine

Proud owners of antique, classic and muscle cars for the last decade have made their way to Rolling Meadows to show off their wheels.

Come May, their Friday night gatherings will cruise on over to a new home.

Palatine Cruise Night will take the place of the Rolling Meadows Cruisers Car Club, which disbanded largely because the owner of the long-vacant Dominick's store parking lot on Kirchoff Road that hosted their events may have a potential buyer.

“I couldn't let this night just die and not replace it,” organizer Tom Wagner said. “Summers wouldn't be the same.”

Classic car owners and onlookers alike can instead head to the former Menard's parking lot at 1775 N. Rand Road in Palatine, where 200 to 300 cars are expected on display each week.

The Palatine village council this week approved the event, which will run Friday nights between May 6 and Oct. 14. Alcohol has never been allowed at the cruise nights, but the tradition of a DJ playing will continue.

The move is a loss for Rolling Meadows, said Mayor Ken Nelson, who stopped by the Friday night staple numerous times over the years.

“The event was a lot of fun, had a lot of cars and brought in a lot of people,” Nelson said. “I'm sorry that they're in a position where they have to move somewhere else.”

Zach Steffans, the owner of the Palatine Culver's restaurant adjacent to the event's new location, said he approached the club after hearing it was without a home. He got the go-ahead from Wolff's Flea Market, which operates Saturdays and Sundays in the former Menard's building.

“It seemed like a good fit to have something for the cruise club, but also for the area businesses,” said Steffans, who plans on providing a crossing guard so attendees can park and eat at his restaurant.

Though the former Menard's building is for sale, Wagner said he opted to commit to the new location because the cruise night is guaranteed the whole season. He also said the fresh start was a way leave behind internal squabbling within the group.

The council gave its blessing to the event after assurances it wasn't a showcase for cars out of “The Fast and the Furious” movies and staff would intervene to correct any adverse impact on the nearby residents.