Intimo Lounge loses license
Tinley Park revokes permit after shooting
Tinley Park officials have voted to revoke the business license of the Intimo Lounge following a Jan. 21 shooting in which nobody was hurt.
The Village Board voted Tuesday to revoke the license for the bar, 7068 W. 183rd St., following a Feb. 5 hearing.
The business was ordered closed following the Jan. 21 shooting pending the hearing
Police said someone drove up to the business about 11:50 p.m. and fired five gunshots into the business, shattering windows.
Representatives of the business did not offer evidence or testimony, according to the report by Austin Zimmer, an attorney with the Del Galdo Law Firm, who was appointed as hearing officer.
Representatives of the business were not available for comment following Tuesday’s decision.
The report noted a number of police calls and noise complaints regarding Intimo in recent months.
“The evidence demonstrates an escalation of such activities and a clear inability to operate the business in accordance with village ordinances such that the health, safety and welfare of the public is not endangered,” Zimmer wrote in his recommendation to village trustees.
In May 2018, Tinley Park police were called to the bar in response to a brawl outside involving about 60 people, police said at the time. Police had responded just after 2 a.m. to a report of a disturbance and found a large crowd fighting in the bar’s parking lot, but no arrests were made and the crowd dispersed, police said.
Investigators found three spent .45caliber shell casings near the parking lot Intimo shares with other businesses and police indicated the bullets were connected with that brawl.
During a separate committee meeting Tuesday, trustees voted to recommend giving a liquor license to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, 18531 North Creek Drive, near the interchange of Harlem Avenue and Interstate 80.
The board is expected to consider the request to sell beer and wine at its March 2 meeting. The chain is introducing liquor at several locations following a test last summer at a handful of restaurants.
Trustees said they will also consider giving a liquor license to Zin Wine Club Bar, which plans to rent a portion of the former Tin Fish restaurant, 18211 Harlem Ave. It is also expected to be on the March 2 agenda.
Apart from wine, the business would serve “upper-tier whiskeys” and food such as cheese flights and charcuterie boards, according to the proposal. Operators Taho Shuaipaj and Afrim Shehu also plan to seek approval to allow video gambling.