WICKER PARK — The Monarch, a Wicker Park bar and restaurant known for its weekend brunch, quiet back patio and a wax candle that has been burning since the hangout opened almost four years ago, has been evicted.
Dated last Friday, an eviction sticker taped to the window of the shuttered bar and signed by a Cook County sheriff's official warns there could be a fine of up to $500 for trespassing.
Located at 1745 W. North Ave. — on a lesser traversed section of North Avenue three blocks east of the busy Milwaukee-Damen-North intersection — The Monarch is owned by Colin Burke and Jarmon Brooks, state records show.
Burke declined to comment and Brooks could be reached on Tuesday. The Monarch's website and social media pages do not mention the closure.
According to Cook County court records, The Monarch's landlord and building owner Demetris Giannoulias, is owed $24,356.25 by Burke and Brooks.
A judge ruled in favor of Giannoulias' company, United Investors Inc., in March.
Giannoulias could not be reached for comment.
Burke's Facebook background photo is of the candle from January 2013, shortly after the restaurant opened. The candle has grown in size over the past nearly four years.
A candle in The Monarch has been burning since the bar opened. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
