Billy Corgan Gets Tea House Sign Approved

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 …

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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 ›

Editor's Notebook

Dreams Do Come True

The afternoon of Sept. 13 was a surreal one as I had my picture taken with my idol, Billy Corgan—and enjoyed a performance at his new Highland Park tea house.

"The impossible is possible tonight." That's exactly what I was thinking Thursday as I sat mere feet from my idol, Billy Corgan, at his new tea house in Highland Park. My colleague and friend, Angela Sykora, and I decided we'd take our computers and work from Madame Zuzu's in the off chance that Billy would be there. It's one of my dreams, of course, to sit down with him, have a cup of coffee (or tea), and chat. So we got our tea, set up our computers and went to work. That's one of the many things I love about working for Patch—that we can work from anywhere. I just happened to glance up and there he was—the Smashing Pumpkins frontman, just casually talking to customers and friends. I stayed as calm as possible, trying to focus on my work…

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Angela Sykora

9:26 am on Friday, September 14, 2012

An exciting day at the Patch mobile "office" indeed! And the tea was delish. Highly recommended!   more ›

Billy Corgan Opening 1930s Chinese-style Tea House this Spring in Highland Park

Billy Corgan Opening 1930s Chinese-style Tea House this Spring in Highland Park