ANDERSONVILLE — Marty's Martini Bar has reopened after tumbling construction debris left it temporarily closed this week, but Huey's Hot Dogs and other businesses housed in the same building are shuttered until further notice.
Marty's reopened Tuesday night, a day after bricks "fell from the top of the wall outside Marty's down to the protective scaffolding," according to a post on the bar's Facebook page. One person suffered minor injuries, police said.
The building spans 1507-1511 W. Balmoral Ave. and 5356-5358 N. Clark St. and was has been getting court-ordered repairs since last week.
A bartender said Tuesday that nobody inside the bar was hurt, but that as a precaution the fire department evacuated and closed the business at 1511 W. Balmoral Ave. The bar owner could not be reached for comment.
Andersonville resident Mark Reeves said he was alarmed Monday night when he walked past Marty's and saw police cars and paramedics outside — and red caution tape around the building.
"My first thought was: "Oh my God. The crime is coming up here,'" said Reeves, a sports medicine therapist. "Thank God nobody was seriously hurt."
The owner of the building is Lake View Property Rental, an LLC ran by Liz Finan, co-owner of O'Shaughnesy's Public House in Ravenswood. She wasn't reachable for comment Tuesday.
It was the north parapet wall of the building that partially collapsed, according to Department of Buildings spokeswoman Mimi Simon. Simon said in a statement Tuesday that the property is in city housing court for issues related to its damaged exterior wall.
A May 21 court order commanded the property owner to begin repairs in the following three weeks. With front entrances unusable during renovations, every business in the building has been closed since last week except Marty's, which has an entrance behind the building.
Huey's, 1507 W. Balmoral Ave., said on Facebook last week that "due to circumstances beyond our control [Huey's] will be temporarily closed."
"The building had violations with the city that had to do with the building owner, not Hueys," the restaurant said on Facebook. Huey's said they were looking into ways to work around the construction and reopen soon.
Simon said the building owner, who obtained a permit on March 11 to begin repairs and install a heavy duty canopy, "has taken the appropriate measures to abate the unstable portion of the parapet wall."
All "loose material" has been removed from the building's exterior, Simon said.
