West Hollywood's The Abbey Not Coming to Chicago

Well that didn't last long. Early last month, it appeared that the Abbey, one of West Hollywood's hottest and longest-running gay haunts, would land in an old, to-be-rabbed garage in Boystown. The rumors about the Abbey coming to Chicago have been around for a while, but now, unfortunately, that deal is dead.

"The Abbey is not opening in Chicago at this time. we are all very disappointed," said real estate developer Wendy Berger Shapiro of WBS Equities, who was leading the deal. "In part it's the economics. It's not the time or place for them in Chicago."

There's no word if SBE, which owns the Abbey with founder David Cooley, have future plans to bring the WeHo icon to Chicago; calls to SBE weren't returned. But as far as Shapiro is concerned, she's still open to bringing the hot spot to town. "I never close doors," she said. "David and I have a wonderful relationship. It's a tough economy and it's hard to get some deals done but I never rule anything out."
· Is West Hollywood's The Abbey Expanding to Boystown? [~EChi~]