Because the Green Mill has been where it's been for over a century, and we go there to have a cocktail or hear Sabertooth on Saturday nights, it's easy to assume that it's always been a great place to hang out. Well, it wasn't. Like so much in Uptown, it hit the skids and returned to its previous glory thanks to hard work and a cash infusion.
In the Green Mill's case, it was thanks to Dave Jemilo, who celebrated his 25 years of ownership at the Green Mill on June 19th and turned it into the jazz hotspot we know today. Read about how he found it in 1986 ("Heroin addicts were passed out on the floor; the joint was all beaten up... And I'm looking around and saying to myself: 'This place is beautiful'") in this profile piece in the Tribune.
Dave, thanks for saving an Uptown landmark. Here's a drum solo, a nasty jazz guitar riff, an unrhymed poem, and a shot of bootleg gin in your honor.
The Green Mill is a cornerstone of the neighborhood and certainly a very important aspect of the future.
ReplyDeleteThe city should should rename that strip of Broadway to "Dave".