Chicago's Smartbar reopening, requiring patrons to be vaccinated

CHICAGO - One of the Chicago's favorite nightclubs is ready to pack the dance floor once again. But in order to get in to Smartbar, you need to be vaccinated.

Staff have been preparing the Wrigleyville club to reopen its doors after almost 500 days, and are planning for 400 people to fill the dance floor each night of a Pride-themed weekend with Chicago DJ’s.

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"All of our staff is vaccinated, and we're asking the patrons to be vaccinated as well," said Joe Shanahan, owner of Smartbar. "I think that there will be a vote of confidence and a vote of, we're all in this together, and the dance floor is going to fill up with people enjoying themselves, til the wee hours of the morning."

Metro, also owned by Shanahan, and several other music venues received a big boost on Tuesday with the announcement that they'll host Lollapalooza after shows starting July 27.

As for the vaccine requirement, Shanahan says that rule may change at some point but for now, "we will be on the right side of history and on the right side of science, as we've been the last 15 months."