115 Bourbon Street Turns 20 Years Old This Week

MERRIONETTE PARK, IL — In one year, everyone who was alive the day 115 Bourbon Street made its entrance to Merrionette Park, 115th Street and the greater South Side community will be old enough to drink. More simply, 115 Bourbon Street is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The bar/entertainment venue will host a private party this weekend to mark 20 years since opening day, which owners Nick and Lori DiNovo vividly remember as August 2, 1999.

"We tried to do a soft opening," Nick DiNovo said.

"We thought it would be OK to do something on a Tuesday, which was August 2nd that year," Lori added.

"But (once we opened) it was like that movie 'Children of the Corn,' people were coming from every direction."

And the place has been crowded ever since.

Anyone who lives within a several mile radius of 115th and Kedzie has been to 115 Bourbon Street. For either a benefit, high school reunion (planned or unplanned), live music, birthday party, wedding reception or pretty much anything you can think of.

Basically, whatever the community wants - 115 Bourbon Street will find a way to pull it off.

"We've been consistent to where have catered to customers and community," Nick, son of the legendary Anthony "Pops" DiNovo who has a neighboring street named for him, said.

Nick and Lori both stress their commitment to the community.

"We grew as the community supported us," said Nick, although Lori remembers how popular they became from the get-go. The two Oak Lawn residents played softball in Mount Greenwood and were already well-connected with people in the area.

"We could hardly keep up on opening day," she said. "It was a party."

Their popularity was so intense at the onset that requests would come in for just about any event imaginable.

"If you build it they will come," Nick said.

And build they did. The venue itself has grown twice the size as it was when it opened.

But the growth in size is nothing compared to the growth of their imprint on the community.

In the first five years of opening, 115 Bourbon Street raised $4 million for charities through benefits and fundraising events.

Now, owners say, multiply that by five.

"We try to make things easy for everyone," Nick said. "We like to give people in need the biggest platform possible to raise money for their family."

In 20 years, Lori says about 2,500 people have worked at 115 Bourbon Street, which in recent years has consistently employed about 180 people at a time.

Did you know? Nick DiNovo, owner of 115 Bourbon Street, says he has "never had a beer" in his life. Lori is not a drinker either.

But the most memorable moments the DiNovos have had in the 20 years? It's the Chicago sports championships that were witnessed their, they said. The Blackhawks have won three championships, the Cubs one and the White Sox one in the 115 Bourbon Street era.

"In '05 (the White Sox championship), there was nothing like it," Nick said. "Every news station was fighting for a spot here that night. It was electrifying."

The DiNovos look forward to continuing to be the South Side's central gathering spot for years to come, hoping to one day pass the reins on to their 9-year-old daughter Sophia.

"This is a family place," Nick said. "And one of a kind in the world."