The Great Room, 610 Haven St., will continue to serve burgers and fries to hungry students after a unanimous decision by the Evanston Zoning Board of Appeals made Tuesday night.
Northwestern’s newest dining establishment became endangered in November 2009 when First Ward residents George and Andrea Gaines came to the board arguing the facility did not comply with zoning laws.
After months of delays, the board ended the case by concluding the Great Room does not constitute a “change in use” or “intensification of use” and upholding Zoning Administrator Bill Dunkley’s approval of the facility in September.
NU head counsel Priya Harjani said she was very happy with the verdict. She was especially pleased the city would not alter the Great Room’s hours of operation.
“I’m thrilled that the ZBA understood the importance of the matter,” she said. “Justice prevailed.”
Board member Mary Beth Berns added she thought the neighbors were unfairly targeting people ages 18 to 23 and wouldn’t have appealed if the facility’s customer base were older.
“What I find is that it seems as though they’re trying to zone against a certain demographic of people, which we all know is not right and shouldn’t be right,” Berns said. “I found that very troubling.”
Despite the decision, board member Michael Sutton remained concerned with the Great Room’s late hours. The facility stays open until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. Sutton proposed changing the closing time. The rest of the board, however, dismissed the idea, saying the ZBA doesn’t have the authority to do so.
Evanston resident Joe Kremer, who used to live across from The 1800 Club, which used to stay open until 3 a.m., said he doesn’t see how residents can find the late closing time frustrating.
“If they can’t tolerate that, they don’t know what trouble is,” he said.
Instead of causing problems between NU and Evanston, Kremer said the board’s decision should improve their relationship.
“Hopefully it clears the air, and they’ll discover that Northwestern students aren’t all ogres,” he said. “So far they’ve been demonized.”
Board member Matt Rodgers said he recognized some will be displeased with the board’s verdict, but the appellants may challenge the Great Room in other ways.
“If it meets all the criteria, we’re done with it,” he said. “We’re only here to decide the zoning aspect of it, and if people are not happy with the decision of this board, there are other avenues to pursue.”
Art Newman, the appellants’ attorney and former First Ward alderman, said in March he would appeal the decision in the Cook County Circuit Court if the board found the Great Room not in violation.[email protected]
