iO co-founder Charna Halpern is being forced to move—and she's glad
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Ambivalent as Chicago residents tend to be about Wrigleyville, the reaction to Alderman Tunney’s endorsement of the Addison Park on Clark Street development proposal has been a widespread show of support for underdogs like improv theater iO and the other local businesses. The plan calls for an eight-story hotel, large chain stores, and apartments across the street from Wrigley Field to displace the aforementioned establishments to “diversify” the area and attract more consumers. Wednesday signaled the first definitive indication of defeat for the proposal’s opponents, as the Chicago City Council approved it without dissent.
Like the announcement that 24 Walmarts are coming to Chicago that same day, the looming threat and worry is that the decline of local businesses means less money for the community and a loss of regional identity—even if that identity is caked with puke. iO co-founder Charna Halpern has been one of the biggest challengers to what’s dubbed the “malling of Wrigleyville,” so The A.V. Club called her to talk about what this means for the area, the theater (which has to be vacated by mid- to late-2012), and local comedy.
The A.V. Club: You said to call back the next day because you wanted to think of a good quote. What do you got?
Charna Halpern: Clark Street has an incredible nightlife, even though the alderman has been on TV saying there’s nothing going on in Wrigleyville. But, in a couple of years, the Clark Street nightlife will have to move and create a new, hip neighborhood, and that’s where you’re going to find iO. ‘Cause nothing screams nightlife like a Best Buy.
AVC: I don’t know if you saw the announcement on Wednesday also that two dozen Walmarts are also coming to Chicago. There have been studies done that show local businesses recirculate more money through the economy than national chains, so this stuff with iO affects more than just improv fans.
CH: I’m not against things like the stores or the shopping. I think a Walmart would be great. But you don’t put Walmart in the middle of a nightlife district. You don’t knock down the House Of Blues or Buddy Guy’s for a Walmart. You don’t knock down Steppenwolf for a Walmart. I’m not against these things.
AVC: It’s about the location.
CH: Yeah, and we have a Best Buy right on Clark. It’s crazy. You’ve got to start to care about nightlife as well or your arts. You’ve been on Clark Street at night. It’s crazy there. It’s like Mardi Gras. It’s so much fun. They’re going to iO. They’re going to Wild Hare. The police come in all the time, “Get all these people off the street! Get all these people off the street!” [Laughs.] There’s so much going on. So what will happen is, yeah, there will a shopping area during the day. But at night there will be nothing going on.
AVC: Just like the Loop.
CH: Yeah, or Clark and Diversey. I remember when they did the big Century mall, and for a few months it was kind of cool. There were all these different stores, and then everything died and there were no stores anywhere on any of the levels. And then, you know, they put in the movie theater on the top two levels, and that’s to save the mall. I think that bath shop is still there. But everything died and so quickly too. I remember I bought an outfit at one of the stores. I went to return it and the store wasn’t even there anymore. It felt like I was in The Twilight Zone. “It was here a week ago. What happened? It was a brand-new store.” So Clark and Diversey at night? it’s just traffic passing through.
AVC: What’s the next step for you guys?
CH: We’ll find somewhere. We’ll find something cool and bigger and newer and we’ll have a big bar. It’ll be an opportunity to make things the way I want it to be, instead of moving into some place because I’ll buy a building and have a nice separate bar and a couple extra theaters and really, really expand.
AVC: Do you have any locations in mind?
CH: A couple, but, you know, there’s no deals made. I’m looking in Lincoln Park, looking in Lincoln Square. I’m going to stay around those neighborhoods. There are some really cool buildings around. We’re just having some problems with tenants that are still there that have another year because I have to get out of here before 2013. So there’s some little problem. I don’t know. I’m still looking. I’m still looking to find the perfect place.
AVC: Is there any part of you that’s glad to get out of Wrigleyville?
CH: I will say that we’re busting at the seams in the space we’re in. We’re already out of classroom space. It’s frustrating when we have bars in each theater. In L.A. [at iOWest], I have a separate bar. So after the 8 p.m. show, all the people are hanging out with their friends, and then after the 10:30 show gets out, they start hanging out with the 8 o'clock people, and by the time the midnight show ends you’ve got 80 people sitting in the bar having fun and it’s a party. Here at iO you have to leave and go to Mullen’s or whatever because there’s a new show coming in. So it’s kind of frustrating. I used to have it that I don’t have midnight shows so people hung out after midnight. But now I have so many shows, I have midnight shows. So I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to having more classroom space because I need it. I’m looking forward to having a big separate bar.
AVC: There was a lot of hubbub about local comedy being in danger when the Lakeshore closed up shop earlier this year. Now this is coming so soon after. Should people be concerned about whether local comedy is dying out?
CH: No. I think local businesses could be in danger if aldermen all felt that way. Luckily, there’s someone like Alderman Waguespack. I’ve talked to him and I’ve talked to other aldermen, too, and they tried to talk to Tunney, and he wouldn’t talk about it. That’s how I talked to Scott Waguespack. He’s like, “Come to my ward! Are you kidding? I would love iO.” Alderman Schulter, he took me by the hand and drove me around. They all want me. What’s sad is Alderman Tunney—his platform, if you look at the front page of his website, he’s like, “I am for small businesses.” Even some gay organizations called me and said he used to speak for them too, but he would trade them. He’s just turned into one of those politicians.
AVC: So you’re saying that some politicians might be liars?
CH: [Laughs.] Yeah. There are some politicians that you vote for because you believe their platform and then they just turn on you. Maybe he’s got political aspirations and he wants the mayor to love him. I don’t know what the hell’s going on. He’s done an about-face on all of his promises. It’s sad because hopefully the voters will remember that. I live in Waguespack’s ward. I vote for him. He’s fun.
It’s a sad day. It’s the end of an era. What can you do? If that’s what [Tunney] wants for his neighborhood, and he doesn’t want nightlife anymore, that’s what he’s going to get.
