Chicago bars and restaurants prepare for New Year's Eve crowds
Neighborhood bars and restaurants across Chicago are prepping for their New Year's Eve bashes on Wednesday.
It's a process that starts months before the actual celebration gets underway.
Hotel Lincoln in Lincoln Park is getting ready to host two parties; one on the ground floor at restaurant Americano, and one on the hotel's rooftop, at The J. Parker.
General manager Drew Schneider said it takes months to plan the perfect celebration.
"It's kind of a special neighborhood spot for people who live close by," he said.
This was Schneider's first year planning the already sold-out party, but it isn't his first New Year's Eve celebration at Hotel Lincoln.
Fifteen years ago, he ushered in the new year alongside his wife Miriam at J. Parker.
"I got acclimated quickly to the New Year's Eve scene in Chicago, and we ended up at J. Parker, and I remember it like it was yesterday," he said.
Now he's planning the party. Schneider said, as it inches closer to midnight, he'll see some familiar faces
"I think we see a really good mix of folks coming in who live in the neighborhood, because it really is kind of the only hotel in Lincoln Park; and then the people who are coming to stay at the hotel, because they know about the rooftop, and they know there's going to be a big blowout New Year's Eve celebration," he said.
Nearby Wells Street in Old Town is historically a hot spot for New Year's Eve parties, and Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen is opening with a soft launch of their new space with a 300-person New Year's bash to reintroduce themselves to the neighborhood.
The fire is roaring and the balloon drop is ready for the clock to strike midnight. The staff is prepping food and drinks at the bars. They'll move all of the tables out to make room for a dance floor-
"Wells Street is always hopping with New Years Eve options, but to have a venue space this large, this beautiful, and with the high ceilings is very rare," said Nick Pobutsky, of Green Curtain Events, which is organizing the big bash.
Scout had a presence in the South Loop for years, but closed during the pandemic. Now the team is choosing New Year's Eve to make its Old Town debut.
"This is like the rising of the ashes – the phoenix Scout, if you will – at this new location in Old Town," Pobutsky said.
They hope it's the first New Year's Eve of many.
"It's the first New Year's of its kind on Wells Street, and we're very excited to have a great crowd tonight," Pobutsky said.