New sports bar with pool tables arrives at the Palatine

A new sports bar serving food and featuring pool tables, darts, air hockey and arcade games is planned for the Century Plaza shopping center in Palatine.

The new site at 365 W. Northwest Hwy. It will be called Hot Pockets Sports Bar, said owner and operator Manny Rafidia, who also owns the mall.

“It will be a nice meeting place for a younger audience, between the ages of 21 and 35,” Rafidia said. “If I’m lucky my goal is to open on December 1st.”

The village council on Tuesday approved a special use permit and a liquor permit for the place. The space is 6,400 square feet, combining a currently empty space with existing physician management solutions, who will be relocating.

The floor plan includes 52 seats. There will be 25 to 30 TVs showing all major sports, UFC fights and more, 12 to 16 pool tables and around six darts, Rafidia said. Billiards and darts leagues will be welcome, he said.

There will be a kitchen in the bar, so patrons can watch burgers and other pub food being cooked in front of them, Rafidia said.

“It’s a cool concept,” he added.

Rafidia also owns Pop’s Pizza & Sports Bar in Roselle. “Pop’s is about 14,000 square feet. It’s half the space – so it’s going to be like mini Pop’s,” he said.

Meanwhile, Physicians Management Solutions, a billing service for physicians, will be relocating to an office space on the first floor of One North Arlington, 1500 W. Shure Drive in Arlington Heights.

Nancy Biernacki, co-owner of Physicians Management Solutions with Dr Randall Kahan, said she was excited to move into the new space, which will be safer for her employees and a little closer to her home in the Palatine.

“Manny is awesome. He’s been a good friend for over 20 years,” Biernacki said. “Our lease ends at the end of July but Manny is cool in letting me stay. We’re moving at the end of August, but we hope to get out sooner.”