Lee DeWyze to perform at Viper Alley opening in Lincolnshire
Diverse national acts booked for a live-music club opening next week are expected to polish a North suburb's image as a go-to place for city-quality night life.
Mount Prospect native and reigning “American Idol” champion Lee DeWyze will christen Viper Alley in Lincolnshire in a special concert for contest ticket-winners Thursday night.
Local band 7th Heaven will follow the next evening with the first show open to the general public.
Viper Alley is launching in space formerly occupied by a glow-in-the-dark golf facility in the CityPark development at Milwaukee Avenue and Aptakisic Road, across from the venerable Cubby Bear North. Viper Alley will be primarily for a 21-and-older crowd, except for Sunday brunch.
Scott Greenberg, who built CityPark and Chicago's stylish Wit hotel, is behind the 500-capacity Viper Alley.
“The acoustics are going to be extraordinary,” Greenberg said. “It's going to be like going to a performing arts center.”
Viper Alley will be an addition to what Greenberg calls the “epicenter” of North suburban night life near Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, which paved the way for the village's Milwaukee Avenue entertainment and restaurant corridor. The village website already has the soon-to-open venue under the heading of “community amenities.”
“We are quite excited about Viper Alley coming,” Lincolnshire Mayor Brett Blomberg said. “This is something new for the area.”
Greenberg said Viper Alley's primary audience will come from within a 10-mile radius of Lincolnshire.
He said the upscale crowd projected to visit the 15,000-square-foot venue will appreciate the wide range of music in a setting designed to be a combination of grit and glamour.
Nationally known artists such as Herb Alpert, Vertical Horizon, the Marshall Tucker Band, Arturo Sandoval, Dennis DeYoung and Soul Asylum already have been booked.
Viper Alley, which also will offer six bowling lanes, joins a CityPark development that includes restaurants, an IMAX theater, a hotel, retailers and offices.
Lincolnshire's director of community development, Steve McNellis, said it's hoped Viper Alley appeals to residents and keeps some of the area's corporate workers in town longer.
“We have a lot of faith in him,” McNellis said of Greenberg. “He's developed a great center there.”
Greenberg said Viper Alley will have high-end finger food and creative drinks different from what's on the menus at the other eateries in his mall, along with attentive customer service.
It'll morph into a nightclub geared for those in their 20s and 30s after the live music typically ends by 10:45 p.m., which he expects to add to CityPark's vibe.
“When you think of a city, you think of energy,” Greenberg said. “Energy begets energy.”
Viper Alley
Viper Alley will be a live-music venue with national acts at the CityPark development in Lincolnshire. Mount Prospect native and reigning “American Idol” champion Lee DeWyze will christen Viper Alley with a special show for contest winners Thursday evening.
The first show for the general public will be Friday with 7th Heaven.
<b>Location</b>: Milwaukee Avenue at Aptakisic Road in Lincolnshire. Southwest of Tri-State Tollway exit at Route 22.
<b>Nationally known acts on tap</b>: Herb Alpert, Dennis DeYoung, Soul Asylum, Vertical Horizon, Johnny Winter and Arturo Sandoval.
<b>Weekend night owls:</b> Party on until 2 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Beyond music: High-end finger food, creative mixed drinks, six bowling lanes.
<b>ID, please:</b> Venue will be primarily for 21-and-older crowd, except for Sunday brunch.