Blue Island bar launching ‘Drive-In, Dinner, & Drinks’ for Halloween weekend and beyond

Rock Island Public House is ready to take its business outside.

Rock Island (13328 Olde Western Ave.) aims to host screenings of public domain films in its attempt to stop the COVID-19 pandemic from crushing their business.

Starting Friday, Rock Island and Butter Upon Bacon-Blue Island — an eatery that operates within the bar — aims to host “Drive-In, Dinner, & Drinks,” an event that will feature movies screenings at 6 and 8:30 p.m.

The drive-in’s first film will be “House on Haunted Hill,” starring horror flick legend Vincent Price, George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead,” is scheduled to be the drive-in’s Halloween night offering, and “Plan 9 From Outer Space” will close out Halloween weekend with Sunday night screenings.

Space for outdoor seating consists of heated shipping containers for folks who want to bring lawn chairs and a transistor radio, while the adjacent parking lot will hold 12 vehicles adhering to social distancing guidelines, according to Rock Island officials.

Admission to the screenings is free and on a first-come, first-served basis. Patrons may purchase food items and drinks as “carry-out” to their vehicles or the shipping containers; no outside alcohol permitted.

Earlier this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health announced restrictions on state bars and restaurants limiting service to customers, which was later extended to suburban Cook County where Rock Island is located.

And due to the pandemic, drive-ins — once considered obsolete — are now in vogue.

Rock Island Public House

“We started this project before we knew the shutdown was coming, as far as setting up shipping containers and getting them heated and so forth,” said Dave Brown, Rock Island Public House’s owner. “The staff came up with the drive-in movie idea. ... What has constantly been our success is that we have some amazingly talented people who work here, and we’re very happy they are constantly bringing their passions to work with them.”