Fitzgeralds

There are two places in Berwyn, Illinois where the liquor is tasty, the music is top-notch, the women are gorgeous and the action is always non-stop. One of them is my house. And the other one is Fitzgerald's Nightclub on Roosevelt Road. That is very fortunate because I can only fit so many people in my living room at one time and Big Sandy gets really uncomfortable singing on my coffee table.

It was originally called the Deer Lodge. According to its current owner, silver-bearded Bill Fitzgerald, "It was a bar that had a heyday in the fifties with a lot of traditional jazz." In fact, Bill is still friends with musicians who played the bar in those days. He and his family got the keys to the place in March of 1980. Thanks to his parents, Bill grew up with a great love of blues, jazz, country and rockabilly. In fact, he recalls a time in his life when every friday was spent buying old and new records at Val's Halla in Oak Park. "American music," he states, "that's been what I'm most comfortable with."

And that's how Bill has filled his stage for the last twenty-one years. No matter what was popular, Bill booked the kind of music he liked. Fifteen years ago, when I first landed in Chicago, a month would rarely pass without a trip to the far-flung wilds of Berwyn to see the Elvis Brothers, Buzz and the Flyers, the Hellbillies or bar-walking Johnny Reno and the Sax Maniacs burn the joint to the ground. In the nineties when someone finally convinced Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys to climb over the Rockies and bless Chicago with their greatness, Fitzgerald's became their home. And it's the only stage that seems absolutely right for the Paladins, Rosie Flores, Cave Catt Sammy, Deke Dickerson, Dale Watson and them damn Derailers.

When it comes to the perfect nightclub, Fitzgerald's has got it knocked. It's on a major street away from people's homes so the parking is good and you don't have to make like a church mouse when you're leaving at 3 AM. The room is wide with a low enough stage that puts the coolest performers right in your lap(and if you go backstage after the show, that can really happen). And it's really comforting to see familiar faces working the place(Scott at the door, Michael on sound and Bill himself working the bar). If Chicago's rockabilly troops have a home away from home it must be Fitzgerald's.

Well, home is getting physically bigger and better thanks to ten years of planning and the hard work of Bill and his people. Fitzgerald's has owned the storefront immediately west of it for many years and they bought the bakery to the east two years ago. And now the fun begins. One building will become a multi-purpose room for parties, meetings and kids' shows. The bakery will house a restaurant, a catering operation and new rest rooms for the club,to which Bill claims, "I don't think there's one woman who has said anything but 'fantastic.'"

Being the cool guy that he is, Bill isn't pulling off some cheapjack remodel either. In the bakery he is salvaging the original tin ceiling, plaster, chair rail and maple floor. And, thanks to research and photos supplied by Laurie Thielen of the Berwyn Historical Society, he is restoring these two storefronts to their appearance circa 1938. "That was our goal," he adds. "Rather than change the buildings, the idea was to bring out as many of the original elements that are left and try and put storefronts in that belong on the buildings."

Bill Fitzgerald recognizes that calling a nightclub a "destination" is a business cliche that puts one in mind of the Rainforest Cafe or Dave and Buster's. Bill, however, is not afflicted with corporate-itis. Fitzgerald's will become a place where folks can go just for dinner and pleasant conversation. But at the heart of the operation will always be the single greatest roadhouse/beer tavern/dance hall/bust-out joint this city has ever seen. The music and atmosphere that have made the club great will remain. And Big Sandy and his men will be welcome to take their pants off any time they like.