Chicago Club Brauer House Lombard Flouts State Restrictions with Packed Indoor Concert | Eater Chicago

"I watched videos from the weekend showing a large, tightly packed crowd of unmasked patrons singing, dancing, and drinking at Brauer House Lombard, a suburban Chicago concert venue, restaurant and bar about 20 miles from Chicago that opened in 1999 in Hillside, relocated to Lombard after a 2008 fire, and has a standing capacity of 1,000. Known for hosting local musicians, the venue has been tracked by CBS 2 Chicago throughout the pandemic; its former owner Steve Brauer filed a lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker and health officials over indoor dining bans (a DuPage County judge denied his bid for a temporary restraining order), the bar closed temporarily on Oct. 30 under the state’s ban, and Brauer reportedly resigned in late January after posting a racist and anti‑Semitic message on Facebook amid a recent change in ownership. Despite organizers advertising the “Out Cold 2” concert (featuring Chicago house artists Gene Farris and Bad Boy Bill) on Facebook as “socially distant” with limited tickets and tables, mask requirements, and temperature checks at the door, geolocated Snapchat and other social media videos show more than 50 attendees mingling in close proximity without masks; social posts also show other apparent mitigation violations inside the venue on Feb. 13 and a large unmasked group at a September 2020 parking‑lot event, and the venue previously canceled a New Year’s Eve concert after reporters questioned possible violations." - Naomi Waxman