City Shuts Down 50 Yard Line Bar on 75th Street Over Roof, Wiring and Sanitation Hazards

The 50 Yard Line, a bar on 75th Street known for its steppers sets and fried fish dinners, has been shut down by city inspectors who found the building unsafe to occupy.

Inspectors with the Department of Buildings closed the bar, at 69 E. 75th St. in Greater Grand Crossing, on Saturday after finding nine code violations during an inspection. The list includes missing carbon monoxide alarms, unsanitary kitchen appliances, standing water on the floor, cracked tiles, leaking roof drain pipes and drop-ceiling tiles that were rotted and hanging loose, according to the city's inspection database.

Inspectors also found the owners had failed to maintain the roof, noting water leaks along with cracked and rotted rafters.

The Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection opened the investigation after receiving complaints about the property, spokesperson Elisa Sledzinska said in a statement. That department handles complaints and licensing issues, while the Department of Buildings sends inspectors to check structural and safety conditions. Chicago health inspectors also tried to inspect the bar-restaurant on July 8 but were not let inside, according to city records.

Nefsa'Hyatt Brown, director of public affairs for the buildings department, said the bar will stay closed until its owners fix the hazards inspectors identified.

"The 50 Yard Line will remain closed until the owner takes the necessary steps to remediate the dangerous and hazardous violations cited by the Department of Buildings, including, but not limited to, the electrical system, roof deficiencies, and unsanitary conditions, which led to its closure," Brown said.

The bar's owners could not be reached for comment.

The 50 Yard Line, formerly known as Willa's 50 Yard Line, has operated for decades on the stretch of 75th Street where several bars and restaurants sit close together in Greater Grand Crossing. Regulars have long gone for its cocktails, fried food and stepping lessons, which drew crowds on weekend nights.

The bar has faced city scrutiny before. In 2023, it was among several taverns on 75th Street issued a Plan of Corrective Action by the city's business affairs department after neighbors complained of rowdy crowds spilling onto nearby blocks, loud music late into the night and public sex acts outside the bars. Those complaints followed a 2021 mass shooting steps from the bar that killed a mother of three and wounded nine others, an attack that pushed residents and bar owners along the corridor to negotiate over noise, security and crowd control.

The closure adds to a difficult period for businesses along 75th Street, where owners have tried to balance nightlife revenue against pressure from residents living nearby. Neighbors who pushed for the 2023 corrective action plan had asked bars to act as "good business neighbors," and some owners agreed to hire more security and adjust closing times. This latest closure is not about noise or crowd behavior, though. It centers on the physical condition of the building, including its electrical system and roof.

City inspection records show no timeline yet for when the 50 Yard Line might reopen. Under the buildings department's process, the bar must correct the violations and pass a follow-up inspection before it can resume operating. The doors at 69 E. 75th St. remain locked until that inspection takes place.