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Punch Bowl Drops Wicker Park Site, Blames City's 'Complicated Fire Code'

By Alisa Hauser | August 17, 2015 1:38pm | Updated on August 17, 2015 2:04pm
 Former Central Furniture Mart, 1348-50 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Former Central Furniture Mart, 1348-50 N. Milwaukee Ave.
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

WICKER PARK — Punch Bowl Social, a large dining and entertainment complex that was scheduled to open on Milwaukee Avenue, is dropping the plan, blaming what a company official on Monday called a "complicated fire code."

"We are looking at two replacement locations within the City of Chicago and are leaning towards developing them both. Additionally, we open in Schaumburg this November. We are currently under construction there," said Punch Bowl Social's CEO Robert Thompson.

The 27,000-square-foot corner building at 1348-52 N. Milwaukee Ave., initially set to host a three-story Punch Bowl Social, went up for rent again in July, according to a real estate listing.

Provided everything went as planned, Punch Bowl Social would have been on track to open before the end of the year, creating as many as 150 new jobs. Among the amenities were eight bowling lanes, two private karaoke rooms, ping pong and foosball tables, skee-ball and a 24-hour diner.

Thompson, who was prepared to pump $6 million into the renovation and shared design renderings in January with a neighborhood group, blamed the City of Chicago's "complicated fire code" for the exit.

"It turns out that if a large assembly space is more than two floors, the building has to be made of steel or use other 'corrective' measures to comply with City fire code. The space on Milwaukee is wooden. The cost of converting a wooden building to steel was too extreme," he said.

In a statement Tuesday, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said: “The Fire codes in the City of Chicago are designed to keep entertainment venues as safe as possible. The requirement that places of public assembly be of specific structure with adequate exits and fire resistance are  designed to minimize injury or loss of life in the event of a fire or other calamity. The codes for such structures are published as part of the Municipal Code for Chicago and can be reviewed before an investment is made in any prospective venue.”

Thompson declined to say where in the city the replacements spots would be or in which neighborhoods. Punch Bowl Social would require at least 20,000 square feet of open space, he said.

In addition to Schaumburg, Punch Bowl Social signed a deal last week to bring a new spot to Brooklyn, New York. The Denver, Colorado-based chain also has locations in Denver, Austin, Portland, Cleveland and Detroit.

Local shop owners near the proposed Punch Bowl Social were bummed out by the news.

"I was looking forward to it. It was going to be another fun entertainment venue in the neighborhood that would help draw foot traffic to this area of Milwaukee. I hope that another unique spot can come to that space," said Tim Gillengerten, owner of Transit Tees at 1371 N. Milwaukee Ave. 

Building owner Joshua Mintzer, who bought the building at 148-52 N. Milwaukee Ave. for $3.75 million last summer, declined to comment on the loss of the tenant.

A notice from a gas company about utility disconnection is posted to the building's window.

Save for a pop-up shop for Halloween costumes, the massive building has been vacant since last August when Central Furniture Mart relocated to 4141 W. North Ave. in Humboldt Park.

Central Furniture Mart's iconic sign and a gas disconnection notice in the window. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]

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