The “ding” of the elevator signals the nightlife-seeker’s arrival at Chicago’s most buzzed-about destination.
The doors open. The sound of laughter and conversation is overwhelming.
The pretty people are dressed to impress. Women stand in 3-inch heels and clingy, cleavage-boosting dresses. They flirt with guys wearing designer jeans. Waitresses fetch cocktails. Friends pose for cell phone photos. Partygoers hang out in cabanas and gaze at the city skyline.
Welcome to Chicago’s hottest summer social scene: the rooftop.
“It’s definitely the place that everybody wants to be,” said Giselle Caamano, marketing manager of Market in the West Loop. The bar, with a sidewalk cafe, beer garden and fourth-floor rooftop lounge, opened in May. It offers an unobstructed view of the city’s big three — the Trump, Hancock and Willis towers.
“As Chicagoans, we experience 9 to 10 months of really crummy weather, so any opportunity you have to be outside is great,” Caamano said. “With sidewalk cafes, you’re dealing so much with people passing by or the traffic. When you’re up there, it seems like a whole other world.”
In the past couple of years, Chicago has seen a surge of swanky rooftop lounges, especially at hotels. In May, Roof, on the 27th floor of The Wit Hotel downtown, joined Market in offering an airy venue where Chicagoans can mingle.
Last October, the Vertigo Sky Lounge at the Dana Hotel and Spa in River North opened on the 26th floor. C-View on the 29th floor of the Affinia Chicago Hotel in Streeterville and ZED451 in River North unveiled their rooftop decks last year. Other members of the rooftop club: Chaise Lounge in Bucktown since 2007 and Citizen Bar in River North since 2006.
More rooftop bars are planned. Sherife Jusufi, co-owner of Sully’s House in Lincoln Park, said she hopes to open a rooftop by mid- to late September. Even though Sully’s has a sidewalk cafe, patrons keep asking about the rooftop deck, Jusufi said.
“It’s some fascination with, I think, being in the sky, being just higher than regular street level,” she said.
It’s the view that helps make rooftops a main nightlife attraction.
“I love that it’s airy in here,” Christina Barajas, 25, of Romeoville, said while hanging out with her girlfriends on a Saturday night at The Wit facing Marina City. “You have such a nice view. I love the view more than anything.”
Bargoers can gaze at the stars too. A number of celebrities have been spotted at Roof in recent weeks, including Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, former Bull Ben Gordon, former Sox player Frank Thomas and basketball player Antoine Walker.
The rich and famous might get VIP access to rooftop bars, but the rest can expect to see lines on weekends and even weekdays for happy hour at the city’s hot spots.
Sandhya Nagubadi, 36, waited in a short line last Wednesday night at The Wit. She said she’d stopped by twice in recent weeks but left because the line was too long. “They make us wait in a line more to hype it up, to show this is a happening place,” said Nagubadi, a physician who lives downtown.
Until recently, Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, which has had a rooftop above its second floor open for 14 years, used to be the only game in town — downtown at least. “About three years ago, we were like all of the sudden, ‘Whoa, we’ve got competition,’ ” said Jen Thompson, managing partner.
For downtown developers, there’s nowhere to go but up.
“For the developers of restaurants, retail and hotels, everything’s vertical,” said Marcus Marshall, director of food and beverage at The Wit Hotel. “Everybody’s looking for space. It’s not available at street level, so the alternate space is rooftops.”
The Wit included Roof — the hotel’s rooftop lounge — in its plans in part because of the growing popularity of rooftops, he said.
The Vertigo Sky Lounge at the Dana Hotel and Spa was designed to appeal to both Chicagoans and hotel guests, said Gene Kornota, one of the hotel owners. The rooftop has indoor and outdoor space because he intended for it to be open year-round and guests can still enjoy the view.
“The idea was to create the feel of [being] in some rich friend’s penthouse apartment,” Kornota said.
Rooftop lounges may be a bright spot in the gloomy hotel industry, which saw a 54.6 percent occupancy rate in the first half of 2009 — a 10.9 percent drop compared with the same period in 2008, according to Smith Travel Research.
At one point, Dana Hotel developers considered just topping off the hotel due to rising construction costs, Kornota said. The idea was nixed, and business at Vertigo has exceeded sales projections by 50 percent, he said.
Rooftops often exude an air of exclusivity, said Antoinette Merrill, 26, a human resources analyst who lives in Schaumburg. But what separates Chicago from other cities is the view and the lack of jaw-dropping cover charges, she said while sitting at Market.
“To be able to [hang out at rooftops] in a city that offers just as much as Vegas at no cost, why not?” she said.
The best thing about being on a rooftop? “You feel away from everything else — traffic and congestion,” Merrill said. “You feel like you’re on top of the world.”
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Green in the city
Rooftops aren’t just for partying. Chicago had the most green roof space of any city in North America (534,507 square feet), according to 2008 statistics from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, an industry association that advocates for green roofs. City officials planted a rooftop garden at City Hall in 2000. Last month, Mayor Daley attended the dedication ceremony for the certified organic rooftop farm at Uncommon Ground’s restaurant in Edgewater.
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Best rooftop for …
… bringing your own booze
Medici on 57th
1327 E. 57th St. 773-667-7394
With seating for about 50 on a sunny roof deck surrounded by greenery and flowers in full bloom, this Hyde Park spot is perfect for popping open your own beer on a hot summer night.
… pre- or post-Cubs game partying
Vines on Clark
3554 N. Clark St. 773-327-8572
Even if the rooftop is packed — and it will be packed — you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more festive spot to cheer Chicago’s lovable losers.
… coming as you are
Plymouth
327 S. Plymouth Ct. 312-362-1212
No need for dressing and impressing at this cozy South Loop spot, where folks just wanna throw back a Miller Lite ($3 on Monday and Tuesday) and take in scenic views of the Harold Washington Library from five floors up.
… gorging on top-notch bar food
Twisted Spoke
501 N. Ogden Ave. 312-666-1500
Years before every bar and restaurant in town started making its own gourmet burger, Twisted Spoke had its Fatboy, a half-pound of pure decadence.
… wearing your poker face
Citizen Bar
364 W. Erie St. 312-640-1156
Shuffle over to this River North hot spot for a free, twice-monthly poker class with bar owner (and professional poker player) Jimmy D’Ambrosio. Next class: 7 p.m. Aug. 11.
— For more rooftop drinking and dining options, go to metromix.com.
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Rules of the rooftop roost
Developers building rooftop bars have to jump through a number of hoops before the city allows them to open their space to the public.
The city’s Department of Buildings reviews building plans to make sure they’re compliant with the city’s code, issues construction permits and inspects the site when it’s being built and once it’s finished, said spokesman Bill McCaffrey.
Safety requirements, which are the same for decks no matter how high up the deck is, include installing a railing that is at least 42 inches high and strong enough to withstand at least the minimum pressure threshold, he said.
Before a rooftop lounge can open for business, it needs an outdoor patio liquor license, at a cost of $1,760 for a two-year period, said Efrat Stein, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. It’s a process that includes a 30-day public comment period and can take up to 90 days for the license to be issued, she said. Leonor Vivanco
Now for the rules:
No cover charge unless the venue has a public place of amusement license.
No live or recorded music.
Smokers have to be 15 feet away from any window, entrance or ventilation unit.
Must be closed by 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
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lvivanco@tribune.com
