Thursday, September 5, 2013

Nick's Uptown To Close Its Doors -- Bought By Thorek?


Some very unwelcome news. A tipster informed us that Nick's Uptown will be closing its doors forever this Saturday. All the sales made Saturday will go toward the final paychecks of the employees who are losing their jobs. Our tipster tells us that Nick's Uptown was bought by Thorek Hospital.

Nick's Twitter feed confirms part of the story:  "It's true! Saturday we will open our doors for the last time. Be there to send us off!"

We are sad to be losing a wonderful bar and meeting space.  Lots of good memories of evenings at Nick's, and some of them even sober!  Nick's has been a great community asset, allowing aldermanic forums to take place there, as well as Buena Park Neighbors social events, Buena Bunny basket making, and Fix Wilson Yard info sessions.  They've even sponsored free concerts in the park, and held donation drives for Inspiration Corporation and Community Building Tutors.

If the unconfirmed part of the tip is true -- that Thorek Hospital has bought the building -- we are extremely concerned that the nearly 100-year-old Egyptian motif building will fall victim to Thorek's insatiable wrecking ball.  It dates back to 1920, when America went mad for Egypt and its pyramid excavations, and the building's construction predated the discovery of Tut's tomb by two years.  Its original purpose was an auto showroom for the then-popular Hupmobile.

We would hate to see such a beloved Uptown treasure become next year's empty lot.  No confirmation at this time, but the rest of the tip has proven to be true.  Take it with a grain of salt.

Update:  No salt necessary!  DNAinfo has confirmed that Thorek has indeed bought the building.

21 comments:

  1. How much more property is this hospital going to buy and not use to leave vacant.The hospital needs to take some of that money and correct their 5th floor -it is awful in those rooms.What's next buying the Howard Brown clinic.Very greety people who own Thorek.

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  2. Please, please, please save this building for the love of God. Having been bought by Thorek I can only imagine it will end up another empty lot, posing as soon to be parking. Booooooo!

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  3. Can someone please buy Thorek and tear it down to build something that actually contributes to the neighborhood? Perhaps a nice development anchored by a Mariano's? (They should at least save the facade of Nick's). Thorek's acres of surface parking lots are a desolate blight on both sides of Irving Park and its status as a "hospital" prevents new restaurants and other businesses (like the new Walgreens) from getting liquor licenses and bringing much-needed commercial redevelopment to the area. There is a higher and better use for the Thorek property.

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    1. Actually I think that is what they are doing not wanting any buisnesse close to them -problem is they don't use the property they already have.They are getting to much power in this area as far as buying up property.

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  4. Where does Thorek keep getting this money? That place is awful, I'd rather be ambulanced out to UIC than give them my money again.

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  5. Not too surprised. It didn't seem like Nick's was doing enough business to stay open, at least recently. Hope they can save the building.

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  6. This is the problem with 'not for profits' getting a property tax exemption - they have no incentive to put the property to productive use because it doesn't cost them anything to have it sit there idle. Hence, the blight of surface parking surrounding the hospital as far as the eye can see

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  7. Nick's looked like it did pretty well to me on any times I went by on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Plenty O drunks out and about. This will probably hurt the Holiday Club as two bars generally draw more people to an area than one bar would. Particularly when you're counting on the post college frat boy dry humping one another on the sidewalk crowd.

    I haven't been in there since I came out of the cake at the Cappleman victory party so my supposition about them doing well could be wrong. I prefer my bars with food like the Bar on Buena or Reservoir on Montrose. I'm high class that way!

    Maybe they were doing OK, but Thorek made the owner an excellent offer. That property coupled with their adjacent property is worth a whole lot of money. If I had a choice about making X amount of dollars from running a bar or the same amount of X dollars selling the bar I'm going to sell the damn place.

    Property sales don't generally involve drunken fratboys or vomit.

    As for Thorek they aren't the best of neighbors, but I hope this building survives. Normally I wouldn't mind a nice midrise at that location, but that building is somewhat unique. I guess they could buy the whole side of the street from Howard Brown to Irving and build around our "Walk/Drink Like an Egyptian" themed building.

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  8. Thorek wants the whole block and will probly get it-they should spend some of their money on cleaning up the inside of the hospital-if you ever have to be put in that hospital -trust me do not be put in a room on the 5th floor-awful.

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  9. I am betting Buena Park Neighbors will accept another $5k hush-money donation, like they did when Thorek knocked down the other buildings on that block, and say it is OK... because that way they can show some movies in a park vs. trying to keep the integrity of the neighborhood intact...

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  10. USH - do you know what "hush-money" even is? What conspiracy are you insinuating has been covered up?

    Every single time you've attacked BPN I've asked you to explain yourself and you have yet to do so. Their actions (and their books!) are transparent and open to public review. I request you do so before you make yet another defamatory accusation of a group of people who work thankless and long hours to build community.

    Please also look up "integrity". Then ruminate on it for a while.

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    1. See my comment below. I think it speaks for itself. P.S. I don't have to look up the definition for integrity. Very familiar with it. Perhaps you , however, can review the word condescending. Muah!

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  11. Damn, this is really unfortunate. I'm thinking imminent demolition for this beautiful building. I have strong doubts that Thorek will be a good urban steward in its ownership of the property. I really had high hopes that the intersection around the Sheridan Red Line could become a great little urban nexus, but with the Walgreen's development knocking a blow to the streetwall and to pedestrians, and now this...well, I'm not so hopeful anymore. What a shame.

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  12. Everytime I walked by the place was
    bone dry of cuatomers. The pirate guy must be confused with another place.
    I agree with Superhero I used to live in BP until recently and they have a ready-made partner in Bill Petty from BP Neighbors. For a few bucks he is their defacto PR guy. A real neighborhood group would take a stand against the demolitions and acres of parking ever growing.

    All we got for the donation was a few art shows, a few movies and a couple stupid murals in the tunnel under the Drive.

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  13. Every single commenter here is in a nasty and annoying mood. Here's an idea.......why not wait to see if the part of the rumor that Thorek is taking over the building is TRUE before denigrating everyone and everything? Even UU said to take it with a grain of salt. Damn, everyone, get a grip on reality before spreading your choler.

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  14. Hush money? I'm not sure that BPN is the political juggernaut you make it out to be....

    I have a stupid suggestion, for those that like to defame and complain about and BPN...... They are a group of volunteers who donate their time to try and contribute to their community, so if you think they should be doing more than they are or doing something differently, then get involved! I'm sure they'd welcome the help/input.

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    1. Not all of us live in BPN, although I did for years. But their acquiescence of all things towards Thorek affects all of us that live in Uptown. It is , frankly, disgraceful and selfish. I have to drive past that ugly assed vacant lot all the time towards my home in Uptown. Buena Park is going to start to look like a Detroit neighborhood if they don't start making some stands...

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    2. Buena Park like Detroit? Are you on drugs?

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  15. I do live in Buena Park and have almost all my life.Have watched alot of beautiful buildings be torn down.Was here way before any condos came in or BPN .BPN have done alot of good for the area and hope they continue to do so.1 thing BPN ,we all need to stick together and build the area and protect it by noticing other things.Like getting Streets and San to start picking up all the trash on Fridays laying around our alleys and getting rid of all the rats running around our alleys early in the mornings.Hope they do not tear down the building where Nick's stands now.Enough is enough with Thorek buying up properties to leave open space vacant.Alot of people worked and lived on those properties already bought and torn down around Thorek ,talk about thinning out a neighborhood,Thorek has a good start.

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  16. Roberta,

    most of the buildings torn down in Buena Park specifically or Uptown in general over the last forty years were the victims of Uptown becoming a ghetto with landlords who purposefully burned out buildings for insurance fraud. Gentrification saved many of the older center entrance six flats from the wrecking ball.

    Relatively few have been torn down because of gentrification or "Thorek" reasons. The funeral home/mansion across from St. Mary's was a victim, but forty or so very upscale condos are better for the hood. Some crappy frame homes went kaput around 4100 Kenmore, but again the new condos were better.

    Now Thorek did tear down the six flat on Sheridan just south of Nick's and that was stupid. They seem to want to take the entire parcel between Sheridan and Broadway and Irving and Cuyler............with the exception of the Howard Brown center they are damn near close to accomplishing that.

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