The city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection has ordered the Dugout Bar, 950 West Addison, to close until further notice after police allegedly found the Wrigleyville bar over capacity and in violation of COVID operating rules on New Year’s Eve.
CWB reported first on Friday that cops summoned city agencies to the bar after officers found a huge gathering as they responded to reports of a person with a gun at a party in an apartment above the tavern.
Now, BACP has ordered the bar to remain closed until the city completes an investigation of Thursday’s incident and determines what steps, if any, will be taken against the business.
Cops went to the building that houses the Dugout after a 911 caller reported that a 19-year-old had been battered and people had guns inside the second-floor unit around 10:45 p.m. December 31.
Officers did seize an unattended firearm in the unit, but no arrests were made, according to a CPD spokesperson.
A webcam that streams footage from just west of the building recorded nearly 100 people walking away from the area as police arrived. It’s not known how many people departed in other directions.
The Dugout has not responded to multiple requests for comment via email, Facebook, and its website.
In July, CBS2 reported the bar “was caught on camera breaking the state and city’s [COVID] reopening guidelines.”
“In the Facebook video, people are shown with no masks and not social distancing,” Tara Molina reported, “but there is plenty of service going on – almost two hours past the 11 p.m. closing time mandated by Phase 4 restrictions.”
The bar’s owner told CBS2 that people were “spreading lies on the internet.”
