Big Chicks' popular Sunday outdoor barbecue must undergo a slight venue change after the city recently informed its owner that the event is against a city ordinance.
After holding a historically large last outdoor barbecue, the weekly event must now be moved indoors. In Big Chicks' weekly e-blast, owner Michelle Fire wrote, 'People talk about the 'good old days'; well, there was certainly the ability to do things that created a neighborhood and a family spirit. Now it's all about chain restaurants, scripted moments and regulations.'
This isn't the only bump in the road for the North Side bar. According to the e-mail, Big Chicks is undergoing another license snafu and, until it gets straightened out, all food must be consumed at the restaurant Tweet, located next door to Big Chicks. ( Fire owns both establishments. ) The weekly Sunday barbecue will also be held at Tweet.
According to the city's department of business affairs, there is no code that specifically bans businesses from holding an outdoor barbecue. However, the department added, there are certain quality-of-life and safety issues an inspector may come across that appear to be hazardous, and that person will ask the business to cease because it is a nuisance or safety issue.
Fire could not be reached for comment.