The Double Door's Dispute With Its Wicker Park Landlord Could Go To Court
By Mae Rice in News on Apr 13, 2016 7:26PM
The Double Door's lease expired on Halloween 2015, and by Nov. 3, landlord Brian Strauss filed a complaint pushing for the Wicker Park rock club's eviction. Six months later, the two parties haven't reached an agreement, and they may have to settle their dispute in court, the Tribune reports.
Cook County Circuit Judge Orville Hambright Jr. said Tuesday he'll have what amounts to a mediation meeting with both parties on April 27; if that doesn't work, they'll go to trial on May 18, according to the Tribune.
"Work on this, please," Hambright Jr. said to both parties Tuesday, continuing the tradition of local judges sounding like exasperated dads on the job.
Strauss' attorneys recently filed a motion asking for $33,976 in rent a month in the meantime—$11,000 more per month than the Double Door currently pays—because it "more accurately reflects the current fair rental market value" of the space, according to the Tribune. Hambright Jr. has put this motion on hold for now, though.
This is the second time the Double Door team has run into trouble with their landlord. As we noted back in December, the club almost lost its lease in 2005, but a public hearing pressured Strauss into reaching a last-minute deal with the club.
All told, the Double Door has been at 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. since 1994, which makes it one of the oldest institutions in the rapidly gentrifying Wicker Park area.