Was Burr Ridge Nightclub OK'd Before It Wasn't?

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge has yet to approve a permit for the proposed "Are We Live"? nightclub in County Line Square. Yet that is not apparent in a village report from early December.

The report listed "Are We Live?" as among the businesses that needed parking space allocations at County Line Square. The nightclub is being proposed by Filippo "Gigi" Rovito. He is the politically well-connected owner of Capri Ristorante, which is a few doors down from where the nightclub is planned.

In early January, Rovito posted an "Are We Live?" sign at 312 Burr Ridge Parkway, where the nightclub is planned. A couple of weeks earlier, he announced the place would be open "after the holidays" in a since-deleted Instagram video.

The village asked Rovito to take down the sign because it had yet to approve the zoning. Rovito complied.

In an email Thursday, Patch asked Evan Walter, the interim village administrator, why the village listed "Are We Live?" as being in existence in the December report.

He pointed to a zoning ordinance enacted in November that approved certain indoor activities through May 1. Temporary expansion of indoor spaces would allow people to socially distance, he said.

"Are We Live?" was allowed under that temporary process, Walter said.

"Staff would later become aware that the business plans for Are We Live had shifted from temporary to permanent, which caused staff to deny Mr. Rovito temporary use of the space and require he obtain a special use to operate Are We Live," Walter said.

He noted a March 15 document for parking allocations showed the planned space for "Are We Live?" as vacant.

"This is due to staff’s interpretation of Are We Live’s business plan as requiring a special use which had not been considered or granted at the time, thus no use, including Are We Live, was listed in the March 15 packet," Walter said.

In other stories, Patch has reported on Rovito's connections to Mayor Gary Grasso.

In the deleted video, Rovito said, "I want my customers to understand there's something exciting going on in Burr Ridge two doors down from the restaurant. Listen, it's got energy, it's got ambiance, the music is old school, like back in the '70s. I'm telling you, you better put on your dancing shoes when you come here. It's going to be available after the holidays."

In recent weeks, at least a couple of residents have expressed concerns about the proposed nightclub. A zoning hearing is set for May 3.

In an email in January, Grasso told Patch the village had not received plans or a request for a nightclub.

Trustee Zach Mottl, who lost in his recent bid for re-election, has long questioned Grasso's connections to Rovito.

Mottl noted Grasso's denial that any request had been made to the village.

"Well then how did the Village staff have it listed as a business in operation with parking spaces allocated?" Mottl said in an email to Patch on Thursday.

Messages have been left with Rovito and Grasso.