Hey Nonny — Arlington Heights’ downtown music club — is up for sale
Hey Nonny — the music venue and bar/restaurant in downtown Arlington Heights — is up for sale, according to its owners, who hope someone will purchase the business and keep it as a live music space.
The sale includes both the Hey Nonny business and its 4,000-square-foot brick and mortar first-floor space at 10 S. Vail Ave. — technically a condominium within the Metropolis Ballroom building.
For now, the venue remains open and operational, with an active calendar of live performances, upcoming fall and holiday programming and bookings extended into spring 2027, officials said in an announcement Friday.
Chip Brooks and Chris Dungan opened the listening room on Oct. 18, 2018 — showcasing Chicago-area and touring artists across jazz, blues, country, folk, bluegrass and rock — in hopes of filling a void in the Northwest suburbs for those who didn’t want to travel too far to see live music in the city.
“Eight years later, we’re incredibly proud of what Hey Nonny has become,” Dungan said in a news release. “We love this place and everything we’ve built, and our hope is to find someone who appreciates its importance as much as we do. Someone who can bring fresh energy and ideas while carrying Hey Nonny and its music legacy into the next generation.”
The owners have retained Kudan Group to oversee the sale. The Chicago real estate brokerage has handled transactions involving other Chicago-area music venues, including FitzGerald’s, the Hideout and The Green Mill.
While the commercial space in downtown Arlington Heights could accommodate a variety of uses, the owners said they hope to find someone who will preserve the live music venue.
“Finding the right next owner is a process, and we’re approaching it thoughtfully,” Brooks said in the release. “In the meantime, we’re doing what we’ve always done: booking outstanding musicians, welcoming audiences and creating memorable experiences.”
A representative of Hey Nonny said Brooks and Dungan were both traveling Friday and unavailable for further comment.
The 150-person capacity music room is separated by a 24-foot-wide retractable acoustic wall from what had been a 66-seat gastropub. But that latter space is being transformed and rebranded into The Lounge, a casual social space also offering live entertainment, officials announced Friday.
The former dining and bar area will have a stage of its own and performances five nights a week — sometimes with a $5 cover charge, and sometimes free.
A new Social Sessions series — featuring a rotating line up of performers and programming — debuts at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Mayor Jim Tinaglia will be interviewed by Ernie Rose, managing partner of law firm DKM&O, a Downtown Arlington Heights Business Alliance board member, and organizer of the pro-Chicago Bears-to-Arlington Heights business group Touchdown Arlington.
Ticketed performances continue in the signature listening room, rebranded as The Venue.
Hey Nonny is also scrapping its farm-to-table bistro cuisine in favor of a barbecue menu. Patrons can order à la carte in either room via QR code.
cplacek@dailyherald.com