New restaurant coming to Wheeling space with deadly past

A new restaurant is coming to commercial space in Wheeling where a fatal shooting occurred a little more than a year ago.

Red Bottle Restaurant will occupy the vacant storefront at 401 E. Dundee Road, in the Riverside Plaza. The previous occupant, Social Bar & Grill, shut down after a patron was killed there in November 2024.

Entrepreneur Dmitry Khlebnikov, who already operates the Red Bottle Bar & Cocktail Lounge in Elmwood Park, aims to clean the slate there.

Khlebnikov envisions a full-service restaurant that also will offer, in his words, “a lot of entertainment.” Dinner will be available daily and lunch would be offered on weekends, he said.

Banquet space will be available, too.

While the Red Bottle Bar has video gambling machines, the new restaurant won’t, Khlebnikov said.

During a liquor control commission Monday night and the village board meeting that followed, trustees asked Khlebnikov many questions about his plans. They seemed insistent that the new Red Bottle establish itself as — and remain — a restaurant rather than a late-night club.

Some referred to the trouble at Social Bar without actually mentioning the shooting.

Hampshire resident Jacob Taylor was killed inside Social Bar on Nov. 10, 2024, following a performance by rapper King Louie. The shooting occurred during an altercation between members of King Louie’s group and another group, police said at the time.

The handgun police believe was used in the shooting was recovered, but no one has been charged. The case remains open.

After some discussion Monday night, officials approved a liquor license for Red Bottle that requires the business to close each day by 2 a.m. Khlebnikov had requested a different type of liquor license that would’ve allowed the restaurant to remain open until 4 a.m., but trustees opposed that idea.

Khlebnikov didn’t object to closing by 2 a.m., and the license received unanimous support.

Later, during the village board meeting, trustees granted Red Bottle permits for live entertainment and banquet space. Both measures passed unanimously.

Community Development Director Ross Klicker said Red Bottle should open in early January.