Entertainment venue Rookies RocHaus in downtown West Dundee will close at the end of the month, with owner Bob Karas citing problems with competition and profitability.
“I’ll be turning in the keys come May 1, taking my ball and heading home,” said Karas, who opted not to renew his lease when it ends April 30.
The announcement comes just four months after the closure of Bleuroot restaurant next door.
Both buildings are owned by Kevin Krak, who did extensive renovation work to the 96 W. Main St. building before opening RocHaus there as a live entertainment business in 2017. It was the latest chapter in the building’s storied history, which began as vaudeville house in the 1900s before transitioning to a movie theater and later a live music venue.
In 2023, Karas stepped in as the RocHaus operator and affiliated it with his successful chain of Rookies sports bar/restaurants. Karas also owns four Village Squire restaurants, including one in West Dundee not far from RocHaus, Alexander’s Cafe and Old Republic Kitchen + Bar in Elgin, Squire on the Square in Woodstock and Squire Ale House in Campton Hills.
Karas said Squire’s proximity played a role in his decision to take on RocHaus, thinking the restaurant could help the venture.
Under his helm, RocHaus brought in local, touring and cover bands and comics and hosted events and receptions. While the cover bands proved to be among the most profitable, he found himself struggling to compete for acts that had “radius clauses” in their contracts, keeping them from booking shows within a specific distance of previously played locations, and with free outdoor concerts presented by local communities, he said.
“Overall I saw it wasn’t going to be very profitable,” Karas said. “I learned that managing a place like the RocHaus is not really my thing.”
At one point, he considered adding a kitchen and video gaming machines but there was no room for the former and ultimately he dropped the plans, he said.
The venue is in good shape, with a quality sound system, bars, green room, balcony with a lounge, offices and room for 400 patrons, Karas said, but it lacks theater-style seating and downtown West Dundee lacks adequate parking.
Krak said he’s not sure what comes next for the property.
“I’ll be evaluating the condition of the space upon Rookies departure and plan to take care of any maintenance or other issues as needed,” he said. “I’ll make a decision on the future of the venue at that point.”
As for the Bleuroot location at 98 W. Main St., which closed on New Year’s Eve after a seven-year run, “the building remains on the market both for sale and lease,” he said. “We’ve had many interested parties and remain optimistic on the future of this keystone downtown building.”
The RocHaus building originally opened as the Crystal Theater, a vaudeville house, in 1910 and later became a movie theater, with a marquee added about 1940. Its moniker has changed over the decades, being known at various times as The Dundee Theatre, The New Dundee Theater and Dundee’s Main Street Theater.
According to a Courier-News article, local real estate agent Ginger Kries bought the building in 1973 to prevent the theater from showing adult movies. She leased it to Douglas Clendening’s Dollarodeon Management Co., which went bankrupt in 1977.
The movie house reopened under new ownership in 1978 and operated on and off showing second-runs of current movies at bargain prices until about 2000, according to Courier-News reports.
Another set of owners stepped in in 2003 to reopen the space as the Clearwater Theater, a music venue that operated there until September 2011, when the village of West Dundee shut it down for operating without a liquor license for more than a year, according to news reports.
It sat dormant until Krak bought it several years later.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
