Chicago jazz club owners ponder when to reopen, and how
CHICAGO - Even when times are good, Chicago's globally famous jazz clubs operate on razor-thin profit margins.
Their small size and limited seating capacity offer some of the most intimate experiences available in live music. But that very virtue, plus cover charges that are a fraction of tickets for major concert halls and theaters, means few club owners are getting rich in this business.
The city's five major jazz rooms have been shuttered since mid-March due to the coronavirus. But with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's lockdown evolving over time, venue owners are contemplating when and how they might reopen.
And whether a great jazz club can survive in a world of social distancing.
"It comes down to math," says Scott Stegman, who opened Winter's Jazz Club, 465 N. McClurg Court, in 2016.
"How do you make enough money to pay the bills if
