Former Old Town Bar Owner Charged in Fatal Hit and Run

Four months after a 27-year-old was struck and killed by a car in Wrigleyville, police have arrested and charged the former co-owner of an Old Town sports bar in connection with the incident.

Brett Dimick, 30, was arrested Monday and charged with three felonies, including reckless homicide and failure to report a crash resulting in an injury and a death. Dimick previously co-owned Hideaway Chicago, a Indiana University-themed sports bar that opened in July 2020 at 1909 N. Lincoln Avenue, previously home to Bricks Pizza. Former business partner Ryann Hill confirmed Dimick’s connection the bar, adding she sought to distance herself from “any connection to him.” On Tuesday, Dimick appeared in court where a judge ordered him held on a $500,000 bond.

Police say that around 12:35 p.m. on August 14, Dimick went through a stop sign while making a left on the 3500 block of North Fremont avenue and killed Sophie Allen and injured her friend Nahiomy Alvarez. Authorities say the women, both walking the crosswalk, were tourists from Orlando, Florida. In the months since, Alvarez told reporters that she’s begged police to make an arrest, even providing a license plate number to aid the investigation. Over the summer, several social media posts linked Dimick to the incident, and a Twitter account dedicated to his arrest popped up. Dimick was taken into custody on Monday, according to police.

Dimick’s name did not appear on Hideaway Chicago’s liquor license, according to a rep from Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP). The Old Town space is now occupied by another Hoosiers-themed bar, Za Bunker Pizza Bar, which opened in October. It’s unclear if Za Bunker is from different ownership or just a rebrand. The space’s liquor license, which remains under the Hideaway name, was renewed in September.

Dimick’s encounters with law enforcement date back more than a decade in Chicago and the suburbs. According to Chicago police records, he was arrested in May 2019 and March 2021 and charged with domestic battery.

In court on Tuesday, prosecutors said Dimick’s license had been suspended since 2008, and revoked since 2009 and he was pulled over and charged in June 2019 with a variety of traffic charges including suspicious of DUI and driving on a revoked license. He also faced a variety of other substance and traffic-related charges in DuPage, Will, and McLean counties, according to CBS 2 Chicago.

Quimby’s and Marz collaborate on limited-edition soda

Quimby’s Bookstore and Marz Community Brewery have teamed up to produce a limited-edition Quimby’s Cola, a successor to their 2016 beer QuimBrew, Quimby’s announced on Facebook. The bottle features a label by Caroline Cash, the bookstore’s current cartoonist-in-residence, described as a “spoof [of] Chris Ware’s multi-headed mouse from our logo, fightin’ it out, putting multiple meanings to the word POP!” Bottles of Quimby’s Cola are available at the bookstore or online.

Small Cheval to open new location in Rosemont

Small Cheval, the burger joint derived from Hogsalt Hospitality’s hugely popular West Loop bar Au Cheval, has plans to expand beyond its two city locations, and it’s lighting out for new territory: the suburbs. Hogsalt signed a 10-year lease earlier this week on a new location on Higgins Road in Rosemont, the Daily Herald reports. The 4,600-square-foot restaurant will have a retractable roof and two drive-thru lanes and, if all goes well, will serve as a prototype for future suburban Chevals. Its suburban neighbors include a new Stan’s Donuts outpost.

Tricycle Winter Beer Festival this weekend raises money for cystic fibrosis

Tricycle in Bucktown, along with 15 local breweries and distilleries, will be hosting its annual Tricycle Winter Beer Festival this Saturday, December 18, from 2 to 5 p.m. to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. There will be 40 different beers and ciders available, plus food. Tickets are $30, available via Eventbrite.

Chicago’s tourism bureau still without a leader

After a six-month search, Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism bureau, is still without a chief executive officer. Crain’s reports that two top candidates either withdrew from the process or couldn’t reach an agreement during late-stage negotiations. The agency, which is partially funded by hotel revenue, saw its budget slashed by half in 2020, which may be one of the reasons the CEO job is proving so hard to fill, and Crain’s speculates about what the lack of a top tourism official might mean for Chicago.