New cocktail lounge Common Good to open in downtown Glen Ellyn

The new openings in downtown Glen Ellyn are showing no sign of letting up, with the latest announcement being a cocktail lounge and “boutique spirit shop” opening up at 560 Crescent Blvd. Most recently this location housed the Sign of the Whales antiques store, but longtime Glen Ellyn residents will remember a shop that used to be here, and one that my dad couldn’t have been more overjoyed with when it opened, which was Fly & Field. If only Glen Ellyn was located on the outskirts of the Rocky Mountains, maybe a store dedicated to fly fishing would have lasted longer. At least my dad got to enjoy it while it lasted.

From the early outlook, the new lounge/spirit shop Common Good looks like it could buck the recent trend of this location and become a mainstay in downtown Glen Ellyn for years to come. The concept is similar to what the Beer Cellar has done so successfully two blocks west, providing an area for customers to sit down and sample the goods, while also offering the retail option to purchase products. Common Good is also similar to the Beer Cellar in that it will be focused on a smaller niche, fine cocktails for dining in and quality spirits for purchase.

The connection with the Beer Cellar doesn’t stop there either, as earlier this year the Beer Cellar hosted an event with the owners of the Common Good project, cocktail master Mike Melazzo and Chad Hauge the Beverage Director at Chicago restaurant Longman & Eagle. I happened to recently have dinner at Longman & Eagle and I would highly recommend both eating and drinking here. The food was outstanding and the whiskey selection was as vast as I’ve ever seen. If you ever find yourself at the Longman & Eagle I suggest ordering lots of appetizers and a pour of William LaRue Weller.

The concept of a cocktail lounge/boutique spirit shop is a unique idea that hasn’t been tried before in Glen Ellyn, and because of this the village board had to create a brand new liquor license for the shop. Common Good expects that 50% of their profit will come from cocktail sales, 40% from retail sales and 10% from food sales. Part of the reason for the low percentage of income from food is that it will not be made on site but rather Blackberry Market will be providing the food for sale.

This definitely sounds like a place that I want to hang out at. I have a sneaking suspicion that I may become a frequent customer at Common Good. Let’s just say I hope they have a customer appreciation club.

There are no details as to when Common Good hopes to open for business, but we have plenty of new places to check out before then such as Two Hound Red Microbrewery and Nobel House which both expect to open as the weather starts to warm up. It had begun to feel like that would never actually happen, but as I write this I’m not sure if the nice weather on this Friday afternoon is a tease or a sign of things to come. I’m going to enjoy it either way.