Hey Nonny Celebrating Official Grand Opening Weekend in Arlington Heights

Chicagoland’s newest music venue and gastropub, Hey Nonny, 10 S. Vail Ave., Arlington Heights, has officially opened to the public. Kicking off its grand opening celebration on Friday, October 26, Hey Nonny presented two shows by well-known Chicago singer-songwriter Andrew Belle, the 2009 MTV Chicago Breakout Artist of the Year. World-famous Louisiana zydeco ace C.J. Chenier, son of the late Clifton Chenier, will continue the grand opening on Saturday, October 27. In its listening room, Hey Nonny presents Chicago and touring musicians playing jazz, rock, blues, country, reggae, classical, and folk in ticketed concerts six nights a week. Farm-to-table cuisine is featured in the Hey Nonny gastropub.

“Our music venue is an absolute jewel,” enthused Hey Nonny Co-Founder Chip Brooks. “The room is gorgeous, the sound is insanely good, the lighting is amazing, and best of all, the touring musicians playing here have said it was a great experience in every way. That means we’ll be getting more great performers here.” “We built this because we love to hear great live music in a cool venue and were tired of driving 45 minutes each way to Chicago or Evanston,” said Co-Founder Chris Dungan. “Hey Nonny is now simply the best small music venue in the Chicago area. It cements downtown Arlington Heights, with its collection of great theatre, dining and entertainment, as the cultural center of the Northwest suburbs.” 

“‘Hey Nonny Nonny’ means ‘carefree bliss’ in old English songs and in one of our favorite Violent Femmes recordings, added Dungan. ‘Hey Nonny’ expresses the lighthearted fun we want people to have in our music venue and gastropub.”

Hey Nonny’s venue holds up to 150 guests in flexible seating or standing formats. The venue features sound and lighting systems, an 18-foot wide stage, and a Yamaha grand piano. Separating the music venue from the Gastropub, a 24-foot-wide retractable acoustic wall allows for the listening room and Gastropub to be separated or combined into one large space.

Created by the “Tattooed Chef” Jay Ruff, Hey Nonny’s farm-to-table menu offers boards, shareables, jars, and entrees with ingredients sourced from local farms. Signature dishes include snack options like charcuterie boards and a duck confit jar, along with entrees such as a bone-in wild boar chop, crispy trout, and lamb shank. The full menu is available in the gastropub and at 16 Premier Seats in the listening room. Guests may also enjoy signature cocktails such as a Purple Hayes, Vail Vixon, Harmony Park, and Broken Halo, as well as craft beers from Chicago breweries, spirits from Midwest distilleries, and wines that would be local if you lived in Sonoma or Bordeaux.

Hey Nonny currently is open Tuesdays through Thursdays 4 p.m. – midnight, and Fridays and Saturdays 4 p.m. – 1 a.m.  Hours and days will expand over the next two months as Hey Nonny adds a weekend brunch schedule and Sunday afternoon Chamber music.