Bar Sepia, a well loved Prospect Heights watering hole established in 2003, is likely to close on March 1. The building which houses the pub at 234 Underhill Ave. has been put up for sale and, after 14 years in the space, Bar Sepia is being forced out.
“I share the news Bar Sepia will close on March 1 2018 a few days shy of our actual anniversary as the Landlord has refused to renew our lease,” owner Delissa Reynolds posted on the bar’s Facebook page back in January. Sepia’s upstairs neighbor, one Charity Thomas, is also being forced out, after 22 years in the building.
Reynolds has not thrown in the towel yet though, and is campaigning to purchase 234 Underhill so Sepia can stay. “We know it’s a long shot,” Reynolds wrote in an online petition, “but we’ve made incredible progress. Thus far, we’ve been approved for a mortgage and are now in a position to make a credible offer.”
Reynolds is asking that fans of the bar sign Sepia’s petition, with a goal of obtaining 2,000 signatures. So far, the petition is about a quarter of the way there. As well, Reynolds is promoting a hashtag campaign – #SaveBarSepia, #ProspectHeightsCommunityLove #NeighborhoodSmallBusiness – and will be hosting a rally and press conference at the bar tomorrow, February 10, at 2pm.