Chicago’s Berghoff to close
A Chicago dining institution, the Berghoff Restaurant, will close in February after more than 100 years serving beer and German food in downtown Chicago.
The place was the first in Chicago to legally serve alcohol after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933; it holds city Liquor License No. 1. It fought long and hard to keep the place - which has a classic standup bar - for men only, not allowing women customers until the 1970s.
Federal officials last fall acknowledged Berghoff’s stature when they took care to plan around the restaurant when drawing up a proposed $550 million expansion of their downtown courthouse and office complex.
[Via the Chicago Tribune]
Second-day update: The Chicago Sun-Times reports Berghoff-branded beer and root beer will continue to be sold at the 48,000-square-foot location. Sometime in the second quarter, the bar will reopen.
