Durty Nellie’s rock music bar in Palatine plans to rebuild as a 6-story apartment building with retail, rooftop bar

Durty Nellie’s in Palatine, one of the leading sites for live music in Chicago’s suburbs, plans to close next year to allow its owners to build a luxury apartment building with a smaller music venue and rooftop bar.

Owners Mark and Jim Dolezal announced Wednesday that they plan to demolish their current structure to build a six-story, 85-unit apartment building with a bank, retail and the pub on the ground floor.

They still would present live music, but would downsize from their current 10,000-square-foot music room to a much smaller scale of up to 4,000 square feet. The venue has struggled since it was partially rebuilt from a fire in 2019 and the COVID pandemic.

“We’re too small for the big bands and too big for the small bands,” Jim Dolezal said. “We have thought long and hard about this decision and taken it very seriously; this proposed new development will help us to stay in the community that we love to serve.”

The bar opened in 1972, two blocks east, and moved to its current location near the Metra train station in 2003.

Durty Nellie’s — which shares its name with a famous Irish tavern and a woman of Irish legend — has played host to countless local rock and blues bands over the years, such as Umphrey’s McGee and Poi Dog Pondering, as well as national acts like The Marshall Tucker Band, Big Head Todd and the Jonas Brothers.

A large boulder out front honors rocker Ted Nugent’s late mother, who was a Palatine resident and prominent member of the local rock scene.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen. “Durty Nellie’s is one of those things that put Palatine on the map. It’s sad that live music has changed to the point where it’s hard to be sustainable, because they are a big draw to our community and the northwest suburbs. But I’m glad they want to reinvent themselves to stay in Palatine.”

Earlier this month, the Village Plan Commission recommended approval of the project. If given preliminary approval by the village board at its next meeting Monday, developers would need to submit a final plan for village board consideration, with more detailed architectural drawings and plans for engineering and parking.

The venue would remain open the rest of this year, with demolition and construction starting in 2024 and expected to take 18 months to two years.