Durty Nellie's gets OK to host acoustic rooftop concerts
Palatine village council members have approved a proposal for acoustic rooftop concerts downtown, as establishments continue to seek ways to draw in customers during the pandemic.
Durty Nellie's on Smith Street will host the rooftop entertainment on two consecutive weekends this month under the measure council members supported at a meeting Monday night. The shows are set from 7 to 10 p.m.
Village officials last month gave restaurants and bars permission for longer operating hours for outdoor dining and drinking. They later reversed their initial prohibition on live entertainment, agreeing to permit ambient or acoustic-type music until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said he had no objections to the Durty Nellie's rooftop plan. The village has recourse if problems are reported, he said.
"If anybody has a complaint, the police go out, they respond and document it," Ottesen said. "There's some discretion used by the officer that's out there because, as you probably can guess, everybody has kind of a different tolerance for anything, but I think they use good discretion."
Durty Nellie's has scheduled the duo Sucker Punch for the rooftop Friday night and solo act Keith Semple on Saturday. The Belvederes will do an acoustic set July 24 and twosome Pino Farina will perform on July 25.
In addition, Durty Nellie's is looking to host three monthly shows under a tent with social distancing, according to a document submitted to the village. The musical performances would be in August, September and October.
Meanwhile, the village might stop its practice of installing concrete barriers around some public parking spaces when they are used for restaurant and bar service. Spaces can be closed at the discretion of village officials to accommodate the outdoor eating and drinking beyond a sidewalk.
Palatine Mayor Jim Schwantz suggested finding a way to make it "a little more aesthetically pleasing" around the parking spots. He stressed there is no desire to take away or reduce the outdoor service.
Ottesen said crowd-control fencing - possibly covered with a sleeve with "Palatine" on it - could replace the barriers. He also said officials will explore making better use of the sidewalks for the establishments.
"They wouldn't be losing any of their outdoor tables," Ottesen said. "It would just be kind of a reconfiguration, so we can look at that."
Palatine council members have committed to the outdoor service through Labor Day weekend, but are expected to revisit the issue in September.