Question of the day
Thursday, May 4, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R…
Norb Andy’s Tabarin is closed indefinitely and the building is for lease a little less than a year after the landmark downtown restaurant reopened following a major renovation.
Owner David Ridenour said Thursday that dining traffic had not met expectations, though he said the bar and live music shows did well. Ridenour said he also has had trouble staffing the restaurant in recent weeks, including loss of the chef.
The restaurant and bar at 518 E. Capitol Ave. closed and then reopened briefly before the latest shutdown.
“It’s closed indefinitely. I don’t see it reopening temporarily,” said Ridenhour.
* The Question: Your favorite Norb Andy’s memory from back in the day?
- 47th Ward - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:07 pm:
Spring of 1999, I think, listening to Pate Philip give one of his patented sermons from the bar stool next to me on everything that was wrong with Chicago. He wasn’t shy about sharing his opinions of various racial and ethnic groups either. He was blunt and unapologetic. No way he could survive in today’s You Tube era. I didn’t agree with him on, well, anything, but he still had some admirable qualities, unvarnished honesty being one.
- Mike - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:08 pm:
Does 1971 qualify as “back in the day”? I attended a Supreme Court argument on a brief I had worked on as a summer clerk, my first of a bazillion trips to Springfield. After the argument, Tom Sullivan took me to lunch at Norb Andy’s. So to me, Norb Andy’s was the essence of the city, every bit as much as the State Capitol!
- go sox - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:14 pm:
spring of 1999 as well. late night. operating hours officially over. drapes closed. front door locked. party continued on. lobbyist and legislative staff person “legislating” in bathroom. you could write a sitcom based on the characters and what went on in that place.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:26 pm:
Most of my favorite memories are unprintable.
But I’ll never forget the night that Pate Philip fired Paul Lis. My parents were at my house waiting for me to get home and I couldn’t leave. It was an epic argument.
“You can’t fire me, I work for Hendren!”
“Yeah, well, he works for me and you’re fired.”
lol
They eventually made up, but not that night.
- Keyser Soze - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:31 pm:
I don’t recall the date but a brutal ice storm hit shortly before closing. The streets and walkway were so icy that it was nearly impossible to exit the building. So, enterprising patrons, including some well known reporters, simply locked the door and spent the night. They made themselves breakfast in the morning. Rich might remember.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:42 pm:
It was sometime in the 90s. My wife and I walked into Norb’s and stopped just inside to survey the place. All of a sudden some jerk shoved my 5′0″ wife aside to push his way into the place. When we looked over we realized the rude SOB who shoved my wife was none other than Pate.
- Norseman - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:45 pm:
I had my first horseshoe there during a lunch with fellow Senate staffers.
- bear3 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:54 pm:
You said it all Rich!
- VanillaMan - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:58 pm:
Barack bumming smokes from me.
- Keyser Soze - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:09 pm:
Norb’s demise, let us hope it is temporary, owes at least some blame to the city’s mindless elimination of parking on Capitol Avenue. Raspberries also go to the Illinois Municipal League for cancelling the long established after hours use of its parking lot by Norb’s patrons. Perhaps Mayor Langfelder will use his bully pulpit to intervene.
- RNUG - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:11 pm:
Several family reunion dinners in the back room. They can get loud and we never got tossed out of Norb’s.
- Eddy - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:16 pm:
Where I first met the POTUS
- Langhorne - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:30 pm:
Early 70s, new to town. Poor. Had to save up for lunch and a drink.
Late 70s, young staffer, i enjoyed myself there.
Early 80s, steve sargent invited me to join his table. Arrived.
Going to norbs after a fundraiser was a great idea—not shared by my wife.
- MHS - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:33 pm:
Rich, great story about Pate & Lis, I wish I would have been there for that one. Norb Andy’s has a special place in my heart. When I first started on staff, “back in the day”, Tuesday night was pork chop night at Norb’s and my Dad loved their pork chops. It was a standing invitation every Tuesday at 7pm. We would each bring a few friends and have great laughs often with him and his buddies telling tales of crazy political & springfield stories from truly “back in the day”. It’s where my Dad and I really bonded and became the greatest and best of friends. And it’s where me and my friends had the opportunity to learn from some of the Springfield greats. Wonderful memories……
- 37B - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 6:29 pm:
Had first and only horseshoe there. Fell asleep in a hearing later that day.
In a health move I now stick strictly to Poutine.
- Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 6:30 pm:
Denny Jacobs’ retirement party.
I remember going.
Can anyone help fill in the blanks? Doubtful.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 6:58 pm:
99-00 ish- Pate introducing me to another one of the old bulls as “Stan’s guy-He knows more about his department than those other a—ho—. They don’t know their a—-s from a hole in the ground.” Think I became his liquor tab for awhile after that glowing intro.
- Been There - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 7:06 pm:
What Michelle said. That was a fun night.
I was also lucky enough when I first started to go to Springfield to have the legendary IBEW lobbyist Emmitt McNamara and some other union lobbyist take me under their wing. One crowded night I went to introduce Emmitt to a friend. Having a brain cramp I accidently introduced him as Emmitt Kelly.
He grabbed my arm and looked me in the eye and said “Son, Emmitt Kelly was a clown. And son, I ain’t no clown.”
He wasn’t but he sure was a great guy.
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 7:42 pm:
They all involve being able to park in the Municipal League’s parking lot.
- Been There - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 9:05 pm:
===They all involve being able to park in the Municipal League’s parking lot. ====
Or at least parking at the meters on the street in front.
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:15 pm:
Went to Blackburn College with a Norb daughter in early 70s. Ate and drank there when flush as state employee in 80s and 90s.
- Gruntled University Employee - Friday, May 5, 17 @ 7:18 am:
I had my first horseshoe there with John Leahy about a week after our crushing defeat in the 00 election.
- Jim Nowlan - Friday, May 5, 17 @ 7:36 am:
My mentor the late Sam Gove learned about state government and politics from the pols and reporters at Norb’s. As a young man out of graduate school in the East, Sam was an assistant to University of Illinois president Lloyd Morey, who was named special auditor to clean up the mess left by klepto Auditor of Public Accounts Orville Hodge. A friend of Sam’s back East wanted to reach Sam but lacked his address, so he sent a letter to Norb’s, writing across the letter: “Hold for arrival.”
- Give Me A Break - Friday, May 5, 17 @ 9:25 am:
We attend one of the downtown churches. We got a new Senior Pastor who wanted to learn about Springfield after moving here. Took him to Norbs for lunch on a session day and I pointed out it was lawmakers, staffers and lobbyist he was watching. After lunch he told he would double is prayers for the people of Illinois.