Palatine’s Durty Nellie’s could get new owner, name

Durty Nellie’s could have a new owner, a new name and a brewery.

Iowa-based Big Grove Brewery has a contract to purchase the iconic Palatine restaurant, which has operated at 180 N. Smith St. since 2003, according to village documents.

The potential new owner’s plans will be discussed Tuesday before Palatine’s planning and zoning commission.

The commission will consider an amendment to the Gateway Center Planned Development to permit the reconfiguration and remodeling of the existing building in the village’s downtown. It would also authorize changes to the existing surface parking area.

In addition, Big Grove Brewery is seeking a special use permit to allow a new restaurant/bar with brewery, an expanded ground-level outdoor patio with dining, seating and activity areas, and new signs.

Big Grove Brewery operates six other restaurants and taprooms in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, according to village documents. It is the 62nd largest brewery in the country and distributes its beer to seven Midwestern states, documents state.

The rebranded Durty Nellie’s would include a restaurant, taproom and full-service bar, and a small on-site brewery. Big Grove would also sell merchandise, including T-shirts, hats and packaged beer.

Big Grove Brewery started in 2013 in Solon, Iowa by restaurateurs Matt and Faye Swift, according to the business plan submitted to the village. They partnered with Doug Goetsch of the Culinary Institute of America.

They opened their second location in Iowa City in 2017. As the business grew, it expanded to Omaha, Nebraska and Prairie Village, Kansas.

The cost of remodeling Durty Nellie’s is estimated at north of $4.5 million.

Other Big Grove locations of similar size and capacity see an average of 5,000 guests per week, according to the documents.

Plans call for the new business to be open next summer.

The brewery would produce five or six beers, including core beers Easy Eddy and Citrus Surfer.

Durty Nellie’s co-owner Jim Dolezal declined to comment on the purchase.

Dolezal and his late brother, Mark Dolezal, had announced in 2023 the site would be redeveloped. Under their plan, Durty Nellie’s would be demolished and a six-story building constructed in its place. It would contain a reimagined Durty Nellie’s, 85 apartments and additional commercial space.

The village council granted preliminary approval, but the project’s Tennessee-based developer, Jonathan Payne, was unable to figure out how to meet village parking requirements for the proposal.

After Mark’s death last year, 95% of the ownership shares were transferred from Mark to his wife, Pamela Dolezal, with his brother Jim retaining the remaining 5%.

szalusky@dailyherald.com