The Owner of Chicago’s Famed Green Mill Has Plans For Another Uptown Spot

The owner of the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, Chicago’s storied bar that’s famous for its jazz venue and Prohibition-era hijinks, is taking over the Crew Bar & Grill space next door. Crew, an LGBTQ-friendly sports bar, closed in July 2017 at 4804 N. Broadway Street. A liquor application shows the new space will be called Club Della Robbia, a name with Uptown roots from a century ago.

The application shows the Green Mill’s Dave Jemilo as Della Robbia’s owner. Della Robbia is a name that has a connection to Lawrence and Broadway streets. Green Mill Sunken Gardens, a roadhouse that opened in 1914, just northwest of the intersection, featured the Della Robbia Room, a dining hall. According to a newspaper advertisement from that year, it was “designed with rare skill and carried out in the costliest, though not gaudy, marble and tile. Attractive and rich — a place where you will enjoy the finest cuisine prepared by expert chefs. The cleverest entertainers.” The space also offered nightly cabaret performances.

Live entertainment should return to the space, as Jemilo has also applied for an amusement license. A phone call to Jemilo wasn’t immediately returned, so stay tuned for details. Plans for the space have shifted a bit, as local officials heard proposals over the spring and summer. The Della Robbias were an Italian family known for their Renaissance-era sculptures.

The owner of a legendary Chicago bar, one of the city’s most essential, is opening another venue. That should spell good news for Uptown and the rest of the city. Come back for additional details.