On the second Saturday in October, the Goldmember Band played the Firefighters Memorial parking lot at Brockway and Slade. Visitors sat on camp chairs and picnic benches, and the new patio along Slade Street filled up under canopies of cafe lights. Palatine was celebrating the end of phase one of its downtown street and infrastructure work. The Daily Herald quoted resident Jim Brandt: "It's nice to have a hometown that is such a hometown that they throw a party when construction is finished."
Phase one is done, but downtown isn't. Village officials told the paper the second and third phases will take place over the next two years. That makes this holiday season a pause between projects. Downtown's businesses are using the pause to rebuild their own spaces, and two of the three storefront changes approved or filed this fall include rooms set aside for private gatherings.
What Phase One Left on Slade Street
The finished work runs along the south side of the Union Pacific Northwest line. The street is newly paved, with new brick pavers, freshly mulched planting beds, lampposts strung with globe lights and overhead strings of lights above the patio. The Daily Herald reported that the grand reopening met its goal of promoting downtown as a dining destination. The Village built its reopening event the same way. It ran from 3 to 9 p.m. with live music and asked visitors to support the restaurants nearby.
Slade Street is the setting the Village built. This winter's official holiday events are held a few blocks away.
Saturday, Nov. 21, From Wood Street to Towne Square
The year's biggest holiday Saturday in Palatine has two hosts and two addresses. The Palatine Park District is holding its first Merry Makers Market at the Community Center, and shopping is free. The Community Center is at 250 E. Wood St. In the afternoon, the Village holds its annual Holiday Tree Lighting at Towne Square, 150 W. Palatine Road.
Here is how the day runs:
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Merry Makers Market at the Community Center, 250 E. Wood St.
- 4 p.m.: The Towne Square program begins. The Palatine Children's Chorus performs holiday music, and hot chocolate is served.
- Before 5 p.m.: New this year, the Park District runs holiday games and crafts for children while they wait for Santa.
- 5 p.m.: Santa arrives and joins Mayor Schwantz to light the tree. Children can take photos with Santa in the Towne Square gazebo.
- 7 p.m.: The event wraps up.
The Park District has a hand in both halves of the day. It organizes the market, and for the first time it is also part of the Village's tree lighting. The market ends at 3 p.m. and the tree lighting starts at 4, which leaves an hour to get from Wood Street to Palatine Road. That hour falls between lunch and dinner, so it's a natural time for a stop at a downtown restaurant.
December Moves Indoors
After the tree is lit, the season moves into Park District buildings. Per the Palatine Park District calendar, these are the December dates:
- Friday, Dec. 4: Holiday Concert at Cutting Hall
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Winter Dance Showcase and the Children's Chorus Winter Concert, both at Cutting Hall
- Friday, Dec. 11: Family Gingerbread House Decorating at Birchwood Recreation Center
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Santa Paws at Clayson House Museum
The Palatine Children's Chorus sings at Towne Square on Nov. 21 and has its own winter concert at Cutting Hall two weeks later. Check the calendar for times and registration before you go, since the listings are updated over the season.
Three Storefronts, Two Private Rooms
Downtown's tenants are changing while the official calendar runs. The Daily Herald reported three changes this fall:
| Address | What's changing | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| 180–190 N. Smith St. | Durty Nellie's, open since 1972, makes way for Big Grove Brewery | Council granted a special use in September. Big Grove expects to open next summer. |
| 34 W. Palatine Road and 4 N. Bothwell St. | Cook, Cork & Fork expands into the space next door | Village approval granted for a roughly 500-square-foot addition |
| 139 N. Northwest Highway | Kashgar Uyghur Dining, in the former Rep's location | Council hearing expected Nov. 9. Owners hope to open in a few months. |
The longest-running change is on Smith Street. Durty Nellie's owners named Oct. 4 as the pub's final night, ending a run that began in 1972. Big Grove's chief operating officer, Mike Wehr, told the village council the new owners plan a full-service kitchen and a relocated bar on the first floor and private event space on the second. He said the brewery will make five to seven beers on site and suggested one could reference the Durty Nellie's name. In the Daily Herald's account, council member Doug Myslinski called the change "a little bittersweet," and council member Brad Helms said Big Grove is the type of venue downtown has been looking for. The brewery already has locations in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.
A few blocks south, Cook, Cork & Fork is expanding from its Palatine Road storefront into 4 N. Bothwell St. The Daily Herald reported that the addition will be a tasting room and private-event space open by reservation or invitation only.
That means a second-floor event space at the old Durty Nellie's building and a reservation-only room on Bothwell. Two downtown operators are adding space that works for a rehearsal dinner, an office party or a wine tasting for a small group. The third change brings a cuisine to Northwest Highway: Kashgar Uyghur Dining is seeking approval to open in the former Rep's space.
Where the Work Goes in 2027
Cook, Cork & Fork's new room is on one of the streets named for next year's work. The village council has authorized up to $141,765 for Itasca-based BLA Inc. to design the 2027 improvements, paid for with tax increment financing funds. That amount covers design engineering. It is not a construction budget. According to the Daily Herald, the design area includes:
- The northwest corner of Palatine and Plum Grove roads
- Bothwell Street between Palatine Road and Slade Street
- Brockway Street between Palatine Road and Slade Street
- Greeley Street between Palatine Road and Slade Street
- Wood Street west of Smith Street
BLA will develop alternative layouts and complete a topographic survey. Village staff said the team that designed phase one along Slade will stay on the project. Those cross streets connect Palatine Road to the new Slade Street patio. Brockway is the street where October's reopening party was held.
At the reopening, resident Jason Georgi told the Daily Herald that other towns along the rail line are building similar destinations and that he hoped the village would continue the work on the other side of the tracks. The 2027 design area stays south of the tracks, on the cross streets between Palatine Road and Slade, the same blocks where Cook, Cork & Fork has village approval for its new tasting room.
Planning a holiday gathering downtown this season, or curious how phase two might change the blocks near your home? The Morrison Home Team follows downtown Palatine closely, from the Slade Street patio to the cross streets due for work in 2027. When you're ready to see how the streetscape investment fits into your own home's value, request your free home valuation and we'll walk through it with you.