Teatime isn’t as relaxing as it used to be for Smashing Pumpkins co-founder Billy Corgan. For the second time in six months, a car crashed into Corgan’s Chicago-area tea shop, Madame Zuzu’s.
Madame Zuzu staff shared the news on the store’s Instagram page: “Earlier today, there was an accident outside of Madame Zuzu’s involving a vehicle that struck the front of the café,” read a statement on Madame Zuzu’s Instagram page on Wednesday (April 30). “Thankfully, no one was injured. Thank you to everyone who checked in and offered support.”
Chicago television station WGN reported that Corgan’s wife, Chloe Mendel Corgan, described the incident as an honest accident. The crash hurt no one but did damage the outside of the building.
Billy Corgan shared a photo on X Tuesday, reporting damage to the storefront but saying they were open for business.
In the previous crash at the Corgans’ Highland Park tearoom, Corgan’s mother-in-law was injured. Corgan shared a note from his wife in October saying that a car jumped the curb and ran into the front window of their store.
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Madame Zuzu was First Hit in October
“This afternoon at Madame Zuzu’s, a car (in circumstances which remain under investigation) drove over the curb and into Madame Zuzu’s and sadly injuring one person — my mother, Jenny; who was spending the day and lunching with my son Augustus,” Chloe Mendel Corgan wrote after the first crash. “Thankfully, he was able to leap out of the way and was not injured.”
In a little over a month, tea will be the last thing on Billy Corgan’s mind as he launches a 16-date tour with his new band, Machines of God, on June 7 in Baltimore. The run will commemorate the 30th anniversary of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the 25th anniversary of Machina/The Machine of God, and Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music. It’s also a chance for Corgan to share songs from Smashing Pumpkins’ 13th studio album Aghori Mhori Mei.
Madame Zuzu’s is even jumping into the anniversary party. The tea shop will exclusively carry the rerelease of 2000 concept albums Machina/The Machines of God and Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. The new collection is a remixed and remastered 80-song box set. In addition, Smashing Pumpkins will release a 16-song reissue of the original Machina/The Machines of God vinyl. The music will be available August 22, with preorders starting June 27.
Billy Corgan & The Machines of God 2025 Tour Dates
June 7 – Baltimore, Md. @ Baltimore Soundstage
June 9 – Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club
June 11 – Muskoka, Ontario @ Kee to Bala
June 12 – Toronto, Ontario @ HISTORY
June 13 – Montreal Quebec @ Beanfield Theatre
June 15 – New York, N.Y. @ Irving Plaza
June 16 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Theatre of Living Arts
June 17 – Allentown, Pa. @ Archer Music Hall
June 19 – Detroit, Mich. @ St. Andrew’s Hall
June 20 – Joliet, Ill. @ Taste of Joliet*
June 21 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Intersection
June 23 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Roxian Theatre
June 25 – Cleveland, Ohio @ House of Blues Cleveland
June 26 – Cincinnati, Ohio @ Bogart’s
June 27 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ Summerfest*
June 29 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ Varsity Theater
Photo by Jason Renaud
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