Printers Row Sports Bar Reserv Faces Eviction Amid Noise Complaints, Wage Theft Allegations

PRINTERS ROW — A Printers Row sports bar that’s steadily attracted neighborhood noise complaints since its December opening is now facing eviction, while current and former employees are also raising wage theft allegations.

Since opening Reserv, 644 S. Dearborn St., last December, Gerald Joseph has been under fire from neighbors complaining of rowdy behavior from patrons inside and outside the establishment. And last month, Joseph’s business received an eviction notice from Roots Dearborn Real Estate LLC — the building’s owners — alleging he owes $45,800 in back rent.

According to the filing, Joseph has received three notices from the owners after failing to pay rent, including one sent as recently as May. The building owners allege Joseph also failed to pay rent in June, according to court records. In the filing the owners claim they learned Joseph breached the lease in other ways, including “actions that have given rise to complaints by the city for license and other operational violations” and using unlicensed gaming devices. The document doesn’t specify the complaints.

Joseph confirmed that he was being sued and told Block Club he is intent on fighting the case but declined to give further details.

The Sun-Times also reported that Joseph owes thousands of dollars in wages to at least three former employees, including one who said she hadn’t been paid since March.

Joseph denied one of those accusations, showing Block Club a bank statement where he issued a check in the amount of $5,372.13 to the employee in May.

He did not provide documentation regarding the other employees mentioned in the story.

He admitted to having difficulty making payroll, which he said has been challenging since being made to adjust his hours of operation for his four most-profitable days of business each week as a compromise to neighbors living nearby. But Joseph asserted he’s paying his employees.

“Due to that, you know, we were not making any kind of income in order to support the business, as well as the employees …,” he told the Sun-Times. “So sometimes these paychecks were coming a week, maybe two weeks late.”

Noise Complaints Pour In

Since soon after Reserv’s December opening, nearby residents have complained of disruptive noise and activity from the venue that has vibrated through their buildings until well after its 2 a.m. closing time. Neighbors also reported seeing altercations in the nearby parking lot.

Hundreds of residents signed a petition in February demanding the city force Reserv to turn down the volume by enforcing its noise ordinance. In a statement to Block Club, Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) said his office has responded to an “overwhelming number of calls and emails” from residents pleading for help with the frequent late-night noise and disturbances. Robinson said he convened a town hall in April with neighbors, representatives from the Chicago Police Department and Reserv ownership.

“Residents made clear that they welcomed a restaurant but not nightclub operations that disrupted the surrounding community. At that meeting, the owners committed to operating as good neighbors and within the condition of their license. Unfortunately the complaints continued. As a result, [Business Affairs and Consumer Protection] has held additional community meetings and enforcement actions have followed,” wrote Robinson.

According to residents who attended a June 18 community meeting, Reserv owners were given a list of changes to implement by the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. Changes included multiple noise reduction measures, adjusting weekend hours of operation to end earlier than the scheduled 1 a.m. Friday, 2 a.m. Saturday and 10 p.m. Sunday closing times, discontinuing bottle service and installing a security guard outside Reserv to monitor patrons and prevent them from parking illegally.

At a Thursday follow-up meeting, Joseph told neighbors that he met with a sound engineer to address noise abatement, replaced sparklers with LED lights and adjusted the running time for late night events for an earlier closing time. He said he also instructed his security team to keep an eye on patrons inside and outside the venue.

Joseph has been given more time to implement other changes, which includes ensuring all staff handing alcohol are properly certified and providing proof of signage instructing patrons to quietly leave the venue at closing time. He’s scheduled to check in at another Business Affairs and Consumer Protection meeting on July 23.

Failure to comply could result in Reserv losing its business operating license. A spokesperson with Business Affairs and Consumer Protection didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In the interview with Block Club, Joseph said he felt Reserv has been unfairly targeted because it’s a minority-owned business.

“I have a [Public Place of Amusement] license, which gives me the right to entertain my clientele. I have a liquor license to sell liquor. There is nothing in my operational plan that states I cannot sell liquor by the bottle. I only work with licensed event planners. That’s why I’m confused by this,” said Joseph, who is Indian.

The entrepreneur said he’s added more signage requesting that patrons respect the community, as well as added security. He’s stopped selling bottles, and music has also been turned down as requested, Joseph said. He said he still considers Reserv a “food-driven” venue.

Still, neighbors said little has changed.

Jim Rice, a 25-year resident of Printers Row, lives across the street from the venue and has seen the transformation of the once-quiet area. He’s ready to see Reserv go, he told Block Club.

“They’ve shown no willingness to modify their behavior. They want to operate as a nightclub, not as a restaurant, not as a bar, not as a lounge. I have no problem with nightclubs in the right location, but not in a residential neighborhood where people sleep,” said Rice.

Rice isn’t alone. Since December 2025 — the month Reserv opened to the public — there have been over 140 calls placed to 311, with the department logging complaints ranging from overflowing dumpsters to wage theft. Rice has been present for most of the community meetings, including the most recent one convened by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection office last week.

Rice and other residents said they faced similar issues with Reserv’s predecessor, Roots Pizza, before the space was leased to Joseph by Roots’ parent company last year.

Roots Pizza was a family-friendly place that struggled to get people through the doors, said Rice. It then began working with promoters to throw weekend parties, he said.

“Parties would start in the afternoon and carry on until 2 in the morning. They’d open the retractable roof and you could hear the bass for blocks,” said Rice.

The business’s retractable roof remains a problem at Reserv, according to longtime neighbor Kathy Peterson. With the loud music, drunken behavior and waste left behind by patrons the morning after, Peterson and her sister said their quality of life has taken a hit.

“Usually in the morning we walk past their garbage and there’s rats and grease everywhere. We have to pick up our dog to avoid getting grease [on the pet]. We filed many, many complaints with 311, and they’ve received citations,” said Peterson.

A Block Club review of 311 records since December found three sanitation violations issued by the Department of Streets and Sanitation, the most recent one logged on May 9.

Joseph said he has reached out to an oil system company for help with cutting down on greasy overflow from the kitchen.

Peterson has also seen patrons loitering and drinking in the parking lot, and said she worries about what could happen if the behavior continues to go unchecked. Like Rice, Peterson said she welcomes businesses in the area, adding that most of the restaurants in Printers Row have operated for years without issue. 

“This is not the area for a nightclub with drunken people running around until 3 a.m. in the morning,” said Peterson.

‘Never Felt Welcomed’

Joseph, a computer technician-turned-entrepreneur, said he has 72 employees who count on the business staying afloat.

He said he loves the South Loop and wants to keep Reserv open. But he acknowledged negative Facebook comments about Reserv ahead of its soft opening in December, accusing him of bringing “s- – – tiness to the neighborhood” and saying the business doesn’t belong there.

“Our first day open we had the police called on us almost 14 times. Why would I reach out to a bunch of neighbors that won’t support us even before we open?” said Joseph.

He said he’s poured everything he has into Reserv, and that if he loses the space, he’s on the hook for $2.5 million.

“I’m the financial backing for this business. I’m 28. I’ve invested everything I’ve made throughout my whole lifetime in this business, and I can’t even grow it because every time we get busy on the weekend, we’re getting complaints,” said Joseph.

For Joseph being a business owner is a matter of familial pride, and an opportunity to prove that he’s capable of heading a venture on his own. Josephine Wade — whose celebrated Chatham restaurant, Josephine’s Home Cooking, is considered an institution — has provided him counsel and even spoke on his behalf at the last Business Affairs and Consumer Protection meeting, Joseph said.

Though Reserv has been beset with challenges, the South Suburban native said he’s determined to persevere.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.