CANARYVILLE — After a series of complaints, Kelly's Tavern has agreed to a few changes that neighbors and 11th Ward Ald. Patrick D. Thompson hope will curtail problem behavior outside the bar.
The longtime neighborhood bar has been seeking a zoning change to secure a lapsed outdoor patio license, and has agreed to a "plan of operation" in the process, Thompson said at a recent community meeting. Such plans are normal for taverns and other establishments seeking to get liquor licenses or zoning changes, the alderman said.
The plan of operation seeks to curb behavior that is concerning to some neighbors, particularly fights that spill outside onto the residential block after Kelly's closes, they said at the Canaryville CAPS meeting in late July.
Under the agreement, Kelly's Tavern, 4403 S. Wallace Ave., will have last call on Saturdays at 2:15 a.m., with everyone out by 3 a.m., and it won't serve packaged alcohol on Saturdays, according to Thompson. The bar also will be required to have security guards, but unlike previous doormen, they can't be neighborhood guys, the alderman said.
"He's well-intentioned," Thompson said of Kelly's owner Bill Babuskow. "He's been a pillar of the community, but there is some concern from the neighbors."
The agreement was needed after a number of "completely unacceptable" incidents outside the bar, especially after a community meeting in November sought to address these very issues, Thompson said at a recent CAPS meeting.
Among the incidents that has concerned neighbors was an alleged fight that ended in a car crash right outside of Kelly's.
At 3 a.m. July 16, a man in a Chevy Tahoe struck three cars parked directly across from Kelly's before driving off, according to a police report from the incident. Neighbors said the altercation began inside Kelly's and that the man intentionally hit the cars. The police report makes no mention of a preceeding fight, though it does say the owners of the damaged cars knew the driver who hit them.
"During the course of our back-and-forth, these incidents happen," Thompson said at the meeting. "People are leaving, they are taking six packs and normally they stay out front. I know the police are concerned."
Babuskow, Kelly's owner, would not comment on the incident, but did say that not every incident that happens on the block can be sourced to his bar.
Babuskow said the patio license is on its way to being approved, meaning his bar can once again hold live music on Sundays in July and August. The music is allowable from 3-7 p.m.
He said the community meeting in November to address the zoning change and neighbor's concerns were constructive and that his focus is on running a friendly neighborhood bar.
The November neighborhood meeting was overwhelmingly populated with Kelly's supporters, Babuskow said. Though some neighbors complained that the bar overserves its patrons and allows them to go out front with drinks, a number of speakers at the meeting said Babuskow is a good neighbor.
"It's over with," Babuskow said. "The meeting went well. I have a lot of community support."
