A repurposed office building with ties to downtown Elgin’s storied past is now home to The Bottle Department, a new bar offering more than 250 craft beers.
“This spot at 46 S. Spring St. at one time was the main office of the Elgin Daily Courier until its merger, when it became the Elgin Courier-News and relocated,” business co-owner Matt Willis said.
While The Bottle Department has a Spring Street address, it is inside 40 DuPage Court, which was called the Spurling Block Building when it opened in 1893. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building was vacant and bank-owned when Dan Strojny and Legend Partners purchased it in 2014.
Elgin approved redevelopment in 2021 and provided the $11.3 million project with $3.9 million in tax increment financing district funding. It’s now home to 40 apartments and ground-floor commercial space.
Willis said he and his business partners Madison Rodriguez and Chris Pietrini met Strojny about two years through Jennifer Fukala, executive director of the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin. They decided the business would be a great fit in Elgin.
“We worked hard to open it, and we felt supported by the Elgin City Council as we navigated the several layers of city management required to open any business, let alone one that required new licensing and zoning,” Willis said. “We really enjoy the location and hope to be a welcome addition to a growing, thriving community.”
Willis was raised in Elgin and has lived there for most of his life. One of his sons attends Larkin High School in Elgin and other is a graduate; both are employed by the city’s aquatics department. He continues to work for BIG Complete Contents, which specializes in cleaning personal possessions after a disaster.
“As for my passion for craft beer, it started when I discovered how varying the taste can be while still only using four basic ingredients,” he said. “At this point, I’m pretty much on a taste quest and am almost constantly surprised by the plethora of new ideas brewers are developing and releasing. I am happy to bring that experience to Elgin.”
He met Rodriguez at The Lucky Monk in South Barrington, and they bonded over a shared appreciation of craft beer.
“We turned our love of craft beer into a hobby, have visited hundreds of breweries around the Midwest and have even worked together at beer tasting events,” Willis said. “We’ve met many people involved in the beer industry, and we can now turn those relationships into a craft experience that can be enjoyed by others.”
Willis met Pietrini at a Bible study group at The Orchard, a church in Arlington Heights, about 20 years ago.
“We played pick-up basketball together for years until Chris moved to California to help his uncle open Pietrini Pizza in Los Angeles,” Willis said. “When he decided to come back to the Chicago area, we immediately talked about how we could work together to monetize our beer passion and decided that a bottle shop offered us the best opportunity.”
The Bottle Department stocks more than 250 beers in its coolers — sorted by style — along with several ciders, meads, canned cocktails, a few wines and more than 40 nonalcoholic beverages.
“We also have 20 draft lines — one of which is dedicated to a (nonalcoholic) option — that constantly rotate so we can feature several different breweries and styles,” Willis said. “We know that this is currently a difficult industry, as many breweries are closing or merging, but we are committed to finding the best available options and bringing them to Elgin so that as many people as possible can experience all the things that we love about this industry.”
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The Bottle Department does not have a kitchen. Patrons are invited to bring in food or have it delivered.
“We are big fans of neighboring restaurants and hope that our addition encourages more visitors for them as well as us. We have already developed some great relationships with some of them,” Willis said.
The space has a 90-person capacity and a private room for events. As for the name, Willis said the trio wanted something that communicated, “This is what we have,” while also having fun initials associated with it.
“The Bottle Department — TBD — seemed to accomplish both,” he said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.