Gastropub, music venue planned for downtown Arlington Heights

A gastropub and music venue is coming to downtown Arlington Heights next spring. Plans were approved Monday by the village board.

Hey Nonny, the creation of co-owners Chip Brooks and Chris Dungan, will occupy a 3,974-square-foot first floor space of the building on the southwest corner of Vail Avenue and Campbell Street. The currently vacant space was once a bank, and was to be part of the expanded Circa 57 restaurant until it closed in 2015. It will feature a variety of music, its owners say, from Chicago-area singers and songwriters to up-and-coming acts.

The venue takes its name from "Hey Nonny Nonny," an old English expression for being carefree.

"What Chris and I both want to see in our town is a great place to see music," Brooks told village trustees Monday night. "We want to build the best small music venue in the Chicago area."

Brooks said they've been pursuing the idea of a music venue for some time, to fill a void in the Northwest suburbs for those who don't want to drive to SPACE in Evanston or similar places in Chicago. The owners say their target demographic is 30-40 year-old parents of elementary and middle schoolchildren.

The venue's theme is "Local Music, Local Food, Local Drink," offering "farm-to-table" meat, fish and produce from the Midwest, and cocktails and beverages from local breweries and distilleries.

A 24-foot-wide movable acoustic wall would typically be in place to separate the 60-seat restaurant from 160-person-capacity music area, but could be removed for weekend jazz brunches. Plans call for three layers of drywall to be placed on acoustic hangers, creating a sound barrier between Hey Nonny and the upstairs Metropolis Ballroom. And windows along Vail must be closed during evening concerts, as a condition of the village board's approval.

Brooks said his staff would monitor sound and make sure the venue is "not being a pain" to neighbors.

The project's architect is also redesigning plans for two accessible bathrooms that village officials say is closer to complying with code.

Hey Nonny will be open six days a week: 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Construction is set to begin this month, with a soft opening targeted for March and grand opening in April.