Once a Joliet night spot, old Miss Camille’s/Secrets now a nuisance
By Bob Okon bokon@stmedianetwork.com October 18, 2012 5:12PM
The vacant Miss Camille's site at 2224 W. Jefferson Street, that has been declared a nuisance by the city, in Joliet, IL on Wednesday October 17, 2012. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 18, 2012 6:19PM
JOLIET — The building at 2224 W. Jefferson St. was last open four years ago when it was Miss Camille’s Variety Club.
Before that it was a popular night spot called Secrets. It originally was the first site for the Red Lobster restaurant chain in Joliet.
Now the city is listing it as a public nuisance.
But its status as a nuisance could be short-lived since there is talk at city hall that the site will be turned into a new auto parts store.
City records show ownership changed in the summer. It was acquired by O’Reilly Auto Parts, which already has a store on Jefferson Street.
Mayor Thomas Giarrante said he heard that the site is slated for an auto parts store, and it’s a good chance the next operator won’t be using the old building.
“That place has to be demolished,” Giarrante said. “It’s in bad shape.”
Paint is peeling, weeds are growing in the parking lot, and the whole west section of the shingled roof overhang has fallen off.
The Miss Camille’s Variety Club sign is still up, although the club closed in August 2008 after the late Mayor Arthur Schultz, acting as liquor commissioner, ordered it shut down for 10 days and took away its entertainment license.
The city cited 83 nuisance calls about Miss Camille’s nightclub over the course of a year, although the owner contended that most of the calls were coming from a particular neighbor.
Now, the city has labeled the building itself a nuisance.
The Joliet City Council this week voted to include the former restaurant and nightclub building with seven others that were declared public nuisances.
The vote is a step that allows the city to go to court force property improvements or pursue demolition.
