The future of Chicago’s Green Mill cocktail lounge is uncertain after the building housing the iconic Uptown jazz club was listed for sale earlier this week.
Green Mill complex listed for sale
According to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times, Real Estate firm The Kudan Group listed the building at 4806 N. Broadway St. for sale on Tuesday.
Green Mill owner Dave Jemilo reportedly purchased the property in 2021, along with several adjacent storefronts in the same complex.
The Mill’s legacy
The Green Mill first opened over a century ago in 1907 as Pop Morse’s Roadhouse, before assuming its current name in 1910, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The club was a popular hangout during the prohibition-era or jazz age, hosting infamous clientele like Al Capone and musicians the likes of Billie Holiday and Benny Goodman, according to the Chicago Bar Project.
In the decades since its founding, the bar and lounge has undergone restorations while still maintaining its historic fixtures.
Today guests can still sit in the booth once occupied by Capone and his crew, while enjoying weekly live entertainment and classic cocktails.
Iconic jazz club likely to live on
While the future of the building remains unclear, a future sale is unlikely to impact the Green Mill’s operations, a source familiar with the listing told Crain’s Chicago Business.
Notably, the building is a Chicago landmark, offering is protections from demolition and significant redevelopment.