Toilet Bowl Shakes From Darien Bar's Noise: Resident

DARIEN, IL — Speaking to the City Council this week, Darien resident Mikaila Moore described the noise from the nearby Q Bar as too much to handle.

"My toilet bowl is shaking. My daughter thinks there is a monster in there," she said.

She contended the noise from outdoor music at Q Bar, 8109 S. Cass Ave., has kept her son up late.

"He was playing hockey Saturday mornings," Moore said. "We had to pull him from hockey because he was too tired to do hockey practice."

City officials say they have addressed issues with Q Bar and that the music is turned off at 10:30 p.m. At Monday's council meeting, Moore was joined by two other residents who expressed concerns about the music.

During public comment, a woman who identified herself only as Samantha said the "excessively loud outdoor music is disrupting our quality of life."

Darien resident Arlene Sturgeon prepares to speak before the City Council on Monday about DarienFest and the noise from Q Bar, 8109 S. Cass Ave. (David Giuliani/Patch)

"Even with the windows closed, the music is loud enough to be heard around the house," she said.

She said she is a nurse who works back-to-back 14-hour days in which she gets up at 4:30 a.m.

"I'm deprived of sleep because of the loud music coming from Q Bar," Samantha said. "I know that I'm not alone. Many community members are upset and frustrated over the noise."

Another nearby resident, Arlene Sturgeon, focused on what she said would be the bad effects of DarienFest next week in the parking lot at Darien Plaza, where Q Bar is. But she also said the music at the bar has been bothersome.

"Our concern right now is what's going with the Q with the music and the amount of people there," she said. "We see fights there. We have it on video where there was a fight. Someone was trying to stop the fight and pulled their car in the grass area and spun around. We're seeing this."

In response, Mayor Joseph Marchese said Q Bar only planned to have outdoor music for five or six more weeks. It was allowed in the first place because the city was attempting to help restaurants and bars during the pandemic, when indoor dining and drinking were restricted. He noted Taft has operated Q Bar for about 20 years and has always had indoor music.

"We are sensitive to what you're experiencing," he said. "We're going to have this monitored, so the bass is turned down."

Marchese said a freeway and an airfield are near his house, which both create noise. But he said he did not think Moore and her neighbors have to accept the sound from the bar.

Moore questioned what the neighborhood is supposed to do for the next six weeks while the loud music continues.

In an interview Tuesday, Moore said she moved into her house last fall with the impression that Illinois noise laws would hold. Instead, she said, the bar's music has "made our lives flipped upside down." She said the mayor's mention of the airfield and freeway was a form of "victim blaming."

She said she had no issue when Q Bar plays music indoors.

Vana told Patch that bars and restaurants got temporary permission for outdoor music because of the pandemic.

"It doesn't mean that businesses can blast music and not be sensitive," he said.

In an interview last week, Taft, the owner, said Q Bar has a good relationship with the police department. He also said the outside bands start shutting down at 10:30 p.m.