Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Smashing Pumpkins' frontman put a 44-inch neon sign in front of his Highland Park tea house without permission from the city. The City Council okayed it on Monday.
The City of Highland Park approved the neon sign in front of Billy Corgan's tea shop months after the shop opened. Madame ZuZu's opened last September in Ravinia. Owned by the Smashing Pumpkins' frontman, the cafe soon began displaying a Corgan-designed, neon sign in the front window, which is prohibited by Highland Park city code, according to The Highland Park News. The sign is 44-inches tall. Instead of asking for a presentation for the variance request, the Highland Park City Council unanimously approved it at Monday night's meeting, according to The Tribune. Moments later, Mayor Nancy Rotering thanked Corgan for opening the tea house in Highland Park. In a letter to Patch, blogger Bob Levi wondered why the variance was approved so …
Saturday, September 15, 2012
The Ravinia Neighbors Association hosted its second annual block party to celebrate the Ravinia Business District in Highland Park last weekend.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Jacob Nelson
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Saturday, September 15, 2012
The Ravinia Neighbors Association hosted the second annual Ravinia Block Bash last weekend "Even better than the first," as Ravinia resident Carolyn Cerf put it, the event was MCed by Terri Olian and included performances by the Highland Park High School jazz ensemble, Ravinia's own solo vocalist Sean Harris, the Makkai Ballet School and the Village Music Store Band. An array of prizes, donated by Ravinia businesses, were raffled throughout the day while children will played games and jumped around in the bouncy house. Tea samples were handed out by Billy Corgan's new tea house, Madame ZuZu's, which celebrated its grand opening on Tursday. In addition, local non-profit organizations like Tails of Hope, the Historical Society, The Art …
Friday, September 14, 2012
Check out Patch's video of the Smashing Pumpkins frontman and Highland Park resident welcoming a huge crowd to Madame Zuzu's Tea House on Thursday with an intimate acoustic set.
It was easy to mistake Billy Corgan's new tea house for a nightclub on Thursday afternoon. Though the stylish walls and classy drinks inside of Madame ZuZu's, located in the Ravinia Business District of Highland Park, felt more upscale than any Starbucks, the long line of people waiting to get in was still an odd sight for a daytime hangout -- even one that sold Intelligentsia coffee and vegan cupcakes. The people in line were eager to wait for the chance to try out the neighborhood's newest hangout, and for the chance to see the Smashing Pumpkins' frontman perform an intimate acoustic set. "When they're motivated, they show up," Corgan told Patch at Thursday's opening. Riverwoods resident Ali Harris enjoyed a cup of jasmine tea with her …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Madame ZuZu's arrives in the Ravinia Business District in Highland Park this week, and the neighbors couldn't be more excited to see what the Smashing Pumpkins' frontman has in store.
The hip tea house owned by Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan and Ravinia Wine Shop owner Sharon Mackin-Norberg will open its doors in the Ravinia Business District on Thursday. Madame ZuZu, located at the former Post Office in the Ravinia neighborhood of Highland Park, will offer a dozen international teas as well as Intelligensia coffee, desserts from Highwood's Bent Fork Bakery and swanky seating, according to Eater Chicago. The renovated space includes "a long dark wood bar, black-and-white flooring, metal plating on the ceiling, red walls, deco lighting and a piano," Eater Chicago reports. Ravinia residents couldn't be more excited. "People have been waiting with bated breath for it to open," Ravinia resident Caroyln Cerf said…
Sue Roses
3:22 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013
I agree totally. It is not about the whether the sign is nice or not, but how the rules are applied. There have been numerous businesses that have inadvertently broken a sign code, were called on it, and had to go to the added expense of replacing it, some with less padding in their pockets than Mr . Corgan . Either change the codes or apply them equally . The exceptions seem to only be made for … more ›