Drinks Over Dearborn Calls It A Day

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 29, 2010 7:00PM

Drinks Over Dearborn, Kyle McHugh's hidden gem of a wine shop in River North, announced today that they'll permanently close the doors on December 31 after a roller coaster ride of over two years that saw McHugh come up with some of the most creative ways we've ever witnessed to keep the store open.

We just finished speaking with McHugh, who said the impetus for the closing was his landlord's decision to call in all outstanding money owed him in the lease. "We had to write a check over the weekend for three months rent over the weekend," McHugh said.

In trying to keep DoD open, McHugh has maxed out his credit cards and is at the point where his home, which he used as collateral in opening the store, is in danger of being lost. "I'm at the point where, if the house is being threatened, I need to take a step back and make some grown-up decisions," McHugh said. Those decisions include looking for new investors and trying to open a new wine shop, but McHugh said that won't happen for at least a year.

In the meantime, DoD is looking to sell what's left in the store through the end of the month and to make certain that folks who bought accounts during the spring "500 Benjamins or Bust" campaign are settled before the lights go out.