Very bad news - the Berghoff is closing!

What a total bummer to hear about the Berghoff's February 28 closing. It's been a few years since I've eaten there, but every meal has been superb.

I definitely plan to drive down from Wisconsin for one last visit. Roadfooders who have never made it to this classic German-American restaurant need to experience the century-old ambience and made from scratch cooking before it's too late.

Hope to make it for my 3rd meal there as I pass through Chicago on my way home from NYC in mid January.

Trying to get to all these restaurants before they sing their swan song is getting to be like that kid's toy, where the thing pops up and you have to hit it with the plastic hammer, and then another thing pops up, etc. You just can't keep up.

I'm sorry to say I've never been to Berghoff's. We have only one really good German restaurant in NJ....The Black Forest Inn, Stanhope. Used to be more.
The Bear

What horrible news! During our midwest trip in 2004 my family ate there. My son loved the homemade root beer, I loved the beer and we all loved our entrees. What a tragic loss for all roadfooders.

Hi...I am new here....I heard the news about the Berghoff last night. My fiancee is from the Chicago and has never been there! ( I did and I am from Michigan!) We are trying to make it there before it closes...the photos of it from the web are great...so beautiful. Homemade root beer? I love it....

One of my fav places on the planet. The veal meatloaf at lunch was to die for. They have liquor license #1.

Wow. Just wow. Another piece of Americana chipped away. A truly great eating experience: the high ceilings, grand murals, feisty career waiters, superb sausage and schnitzel, deliriously good root beer, and tradition. Lots and lots of little reminders of another age. I'm guessing a TGI Friday's or Cheesecake Factory is going in. Snif.

Does anyone know why they're shutting it down? They must still be making money; the place was always full whenever I got there...

quote:

Originally posted by essvee

Wow. Just wow. Another piece of Americana chipped away. A truly great eating experience: the high ceilings, grand murals, feisty career waiters, superb sausage and schnitzel, deliriously good root beer, and tradition. Lots and lots of little reminders of another age. I'm guessing a TGI Friday's or Cheesecake Factory is going in. Snif.

Does anyone know why they're shutting it down? They must still be making money; the place was always full whenever I got there...

I saw it on the news today, Dad is retiring, and the daughter is using the place for her catering biz....

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

quote:

Originally posted by essvee

Wow. Just wow. Another piece of Americana chipped away. A truly great eating experience: the high ceilings, grand murals, feisty career waiters, superb sausage and schnitzel, deliriously good root beer, and tradition. Lots and lots of little reminders of another age. I'm guessing a TGI Friday's or Cheesecake Factory is going in. Snif.

Does anyone know why they're shutting it down? They must still be making money; the place was always full whenever I got there...

I saw it on the news today, Dad is retiring, and the daughter is using the place for her catering biz....

What a loss. I've never been there before, but you are all making my mouth water with the descriptions. Sounds like the daughter isn't interested in putting in the hours it takes to run a business like this. I'm sure the catering business will take much less time, but what a waste, unless she plans to use the facility like a party house.

If she's only going to use the kitchen for cooking, you would think they would do better selling it as a successful business and lestting her use some of the money to set up a catering kitchen elsewhere. Of course, that brings up the problem of who wants to invest a lot of money buying themselves an 18/7 career.

quote:

Originally posted by berndog

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

quote:

Originally posted by essvee

Wow. Just wow. Another piece of Americana chipped away. A truly great eating experience: the high ceilings, grand murals, feisty career waiters, superb sausage and schnitzel, deliriously good root beer, and tradition. Lots and lots of little reminders of another age. I'm guessing a TGI Friday's or Cheesecake Factory is going in. Snif.

Does anyone know why they're shutting it down? They must still be making money; the place was always full whenever I got there...

I saw it on the news today, Dad is retiring, and the daughter is using the place for her catering biz....

What a loss. I've never been there before, but you are all making my mouth water with the descriptions. Sounds like the daughter isn't interested in putting in the hours it takes to run a business like this. I'm sure the catering business will take much less time, but what a waste, unless she plans to use the facility like a party house.

If she's only going to use the kitchen for cooking, you would think they would do better selling it as a successful business and lestting her use some of the money to set up a catering kitchen elsewhere. Of course, that brings up the problem of who wants to invest a lot of money buying themselves an 18/7 career.

The news also mentioned that they have been open since 1898, and that the only time that they didnt serve beer, was during prohibition..
Does seem like a loss, but I bet they do a huge business until February when they do shut down. I Couldnt find any web site for them.

Here's a link to the website. http://www.berghoff.com/

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen



Here's a link to the website. http://www.berghoff.com/

Hey, how did you do that?... I was in google, and it didnt come up..
Oh, never mind, I accidently added a "s" on the end..
LOL at myself!

My one meal there was corned beef & cabbage, mashed potatoes, great bread, creamed spinach and an order of apple streudel to go... pay the waiter... cash only... the memory will last forever... a wonderful experience...

SAD TO SEE IT GO!!!...

This is currently being broadcast on All Things Considered, NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5074873

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
Originally posted by Big Ugly Mich

I don't know if this is a chain, but the Berghoff on Michigan Avenue in Chicago is closing as of Feb 28th.

It's on the FRONT PAGE of the Sun Times and Page One of the Business section of the Tribune.



Many years ago, when I attended college in Illinois, we used to take the train into Chicago on weekends to party. I have many fond memories of a Berghoff dark-brewed house beer on tap and its wonderful old-world German atmosphere (seemingly unchanged for generations). It was definitely not a chain. Many of its crusty old waiters had been there practically as long as the restaurant, which I believe goes back to the early 20th century. What a terrible loss!

QFan
Bonita Springs, FL

After spending several hours Christmas shopping and waiting in line for gift wrapping at Field's last Thursday, I checked my packages while retrieving my coat and walked over to The Berghoff. It was around 2:00 and there was quite a line outside for upstairs, but my destination was the Cafe. I had an excellent carved roast beef sandwich on a Kaiser with a side of German potato salad. To add to the experience I ordered a dry Beefeater Martini with a water back at the stand up bar. (I haven't had a Martini at lunch in 25 years). The city of Chicago will surely miss this place along with Marshall Fields.

When I was a junior in high school, many eons ago, my class went to Chicago to visit museums and the aquarium. We were taken to the Berghoff for supper and I bravely ordered my first duckling. It was just heavenly and I have enjoyed duck ever since. For years, I could not remember the name of the restaurant where we ate. Now that this thread has jogged my memory, The Berghoff is closing. It's sad to see a venerable old establishment close its doors.

We ate there late yesterday afternoon. There was a 45 minute wait on the street in the rain, just to get to the front door. The Berghoff staff was kind enough to supply everyone with umbrellas. Once inside, there was another 30 minute wait and it was definitely worth it. If you go with a party of 3 or more, once inside, you'll be seated much quicker then parties of 2. The wait staff was great(some working there over 30 years), the service was amazingly quick, the food was wonderful, and reasonably priced for a downtown Chicago restaurant. After dinner, a trip to Marshall Field's for the last time is also a must.

CSD

I don't think I will get up to Chicago to say farewell prior to the closing. I do know that I will miss this institution as much as one can miss an "old friend".

As a child traveling alone across country on the train I would enjoy a meal at the Berghoff as part of the transfer from the Dearborn Station (Santa Fe RR) to the LaSalle St Station (NY Central RR). The Traveler's Aid lady who did the 'escort-between-stations job would take me to the Berghoff for Lunch on each leg of the trip from SoCal to Michigan and again on the return. It was one of things that I looked forward to on each summer's journey.

Later as an adult (young G I) I was able to enjoy the house beer while enroute from Fort Devens Mass to my point of departure for SEA (Travis AFB CA Dec.1960). Over the years we have visited the place several times and never had a less than positive experience. Our last visit was in 1998 when we took my elderly Mother to lunch there. What a great place!

I know that times and property change and I am sure that someone somewhere is probably going to turn a good Buck doing whatever they will do with the property....But I will be in a large group of Mourner's who will be sad to see the demise of another great institution.

It is so sad to see this institution go. However, all is not lost. The Berghoff Bar will remain open next door to the restaurant. Today, the bar menu is an abbreviated menu found in the dining room and has some of the old favorites. Lets see what it looks like after the restaurant closes.

Well, my fiancee and I plan to make reservations and be there this week just to experience this fine establishment and its history...I want to try the beer and the root beer! Here is a story from the Chicago Tribune about the closing...I will let you know what it was like there...

*******************************************************************


Berghoff, beer and Chicago

Published December 30, 2005


Tucked deep into the fine print of a Chicago Daily Tribune end-of-year business report on Dec. 31, 1898, was the announcement that Herman Berghoff's brewing company of Ft. Wayne, Ind., would pay $175,000 to rent a building at the corner of State and Adams Streets for five years. Herman Joseph Berghoff figured Chicagoans might have a taste for his heartier Dortmunder-style beer.

That turned out to be a pretty good deal for Herman Berghoff Brewing and Chicago, which have been synonymous for more than a century. But nothing lasts forever, not even an icon that serves up more than ample quantities of beer, brats and wiener schnitzel to the masses. Thus, there was no hiding Wednesday's news that the Berghoff Restaurant, now in the building next door to that first location, will close in February.

Some Chicagoans are taking the news hard. But maybe they can take solace in this. The restaurant's closing is not the result of some corporate takeover like the one that will obliterate the name of Berghoff's equally famous Loop neighbor, Marshall Field's, next year. Nor is it the result of some real estate transaction that will destroy the 1872 gemutlich charmer that houses Berghoff's so skyscraper condos can be erected.

No, this is Herman Berghoff's 70-year-old grandson and his wife deciding to retire and turn the business and building over to their daughter's catering company. It's all in the family. While the Berghoff Restaurant will disappear as a public space and become home to private, catered parties, the famous bar will not.

The bar that was the first Chicago establishment to get a liquor license when Prohibition ended in 1933, and that made history in 1969 when seven women protested its men-only policy by demanding service, will remain a part of city lore. So, Berghoff fans mourning its loss, buck up. At least Berghoff's beer will still be frosty cold and on tap at 17 W. Adams St.







Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

quote:

Originally posted by lennonlover2005

Well, my fiancee and I plan to make reservations and be there this week just to experience this fine establishment and its history...I want to try the beer and the root beer! Here is a story from the Chicago Tribune about the closing...I will let you know what it was like there...

*******************************************************************


Berghoff, beer and Chicago

Published December 30, 2005


Tucked deep into the fine print of a Chicago Daily Tribune end-of-year business report on Dec. 31, 1898, was the announcement that Herman Berghoff's brewing company of Ft. Wayne, Ind., would pay $175,000 to rent a building at the corner of State and Adams Streets for five years. Herman Joseph Berghoff figured Chicagoans might have a taste for his heartier Dortmunder-style beer.

That turned out to be a pretty good deal for Herman Berghoff Brewing and Chicago, which have been synonymous for more than a century. But nothing lasts forever, not even an icon that serves up more than ample quantities of beer, brats and wiener schnitzel to the masses. Thus, there was no hiding Wednesday's news that the Berghoff Restaurant, now in the building next door to that first location, will close in February.

Some Chicagoans are taking the news hard. But maybe they can take solace in this. The restaurant's closing is not the result of some corporate takeover like the one that will obliterate the name of Berghoff's equally famous Loop neighbor, Marshall Field's, next year. Nor is it the result of some real estate transaction that will destroy the 1872 gemutlich charmer that houses Berghoff's so skyscraper condos can be erected.

No, this is Herman Berghoff's 70-year-old grandson and his wife deciding to retire and turn the business and building over to their daughter's catering company. It's all in the family. While the Berghoff Restaurant will disappear as a public space and become home to private, catered parties, the famous bar will not.

The bar that was the first Chicago establishment to get a liquor license when Prohibition ended in 1933, and that made history in 1969 when seven women protested its men-only policy by demanding service, will remain a part of city lore. So, Berghoff fans mourning its loss, buck up. At least Berghoff's beer will still be frosty cold and on tap at 17 W. Adams St.







Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

quote:

Originally posted by lennonlover2005

Well, my fiancee and I plan to make reservations and be there this week just to experience this fine establishment and its history...I want to try the beer and the root beer! Here is a story from the Chicago Tribune about the closing...I will let you know what it was like there...

*******************************************************************


Berghoff, beer and Chicago

Published December 30, 2005


Tucked deep into the fine print of a Chicago Daily Tribune end-of-year business report on Dec. 31, 1898, was the announcement that Herman Berghoff's brewing company of Ft. Wayne, Ind., would pay $175,000 to rent a building at the corner of State and Adams Streets for five years. Herman Joseph Berghoff figured Chicagoans might have a taste for his heartier Dortmunder-style beer.

That turned out to be a pretty good deal for Herman Berghoff Brewing and Chicago, which have been synonymous for more than a century. But nothing lasts forever, not even an icon that serves up more than ample quantities of beer, brats and wiener schnitzel to the masses. Thus, there was no hiding Wednesday's news that the Berghoff Restaurant, now in the building next door to that first location, will close in February.

Some Chicagoans are taking the news hard. But maybe they can take solace in this. The restaurant's closing is not the result of some corporate takeover like the one that will obliterate the name of Berghoff's equally famous Loop neighbor, Marshall Field's, next year. Nor is it the result of some real estate transaction that will destroy the 1872 gemutlich charmer that houses Berghoff's so skyscraper condos can be erected.

No, this is Herman Berghoff's 70-year-old grandson and his wife deciding to retire and turn the business and building over to their daughter's catering company. It's all in the family. While the Berghoff Restaurant will disappear as a public space and become home to private, catered parties, the famous bar will not.

The bar that was the first Chicago establishment to get a liquor license when Prohibition ended in 1933, and that made history in 1969 when seven women protested its men-only policy by demanding service, will remain a part of city lore. So, Berghoff fans mourning its loss, buck up. At least Berghoff's beer will still be frosty cold and on tap at 17 W. Adams St.







Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

I understand the bar will be renamed and the menu will change. With Marshall Field's closing and now the Berghoff...well...as one customer said: "Where will we go now to observe our traditions? Victoria's Secret?"

I'll have to make a special trip or two before they close.

We had our final meal at the Berghoff last night.

First a few tips for those of you wanting to get in before they close up on February 28:

Go on a weeknight. Weekends lines are running two to three hours outside in the cold.

Try going later rather than earlier. They're open till 9pm on the weeknights, 10 or 11 on weekends. I called to get a reservation (they're booked for the rest of this week), and was told we'd just have to wait in a first come first served line to get in. They also said getting there at 7:30 as opposed to 5:00 would present less of a line to get in. They were true to their word. It took us just a few minutes to get inside the front door and less than 15 minutes to get a table after that.

Park at 17 E. Adams. It's a self park lot. Get your parking ticket stamped by the host and you'll get a flat rate of $9.

As for the food, it's as wonderful as anything I remember from the old days when a bunch of us from Columbia College, around the corner, would run in for lunch on a budget.

I started with a vodka tonic. They serve it with a lemon twist instead of a slice of lime. Very refreshing. I just might order them like that all the time now. Next, my daughter wanted the duck pot stickers served with a German sweet & sour sauce. Unremarkable but tasty. For dinner I ordered the Schlacht Platte or Butcher's Plate. The plate arrived piled high with sauerkraut with big juicy chunks of bratwurst and thuringer nestled throughout and a generous kessler rib topping it all off. For those of you who do not know, the kessler rib is a pork chop that is smoked while still part of a full pork rib roast. Each individual chop is then sliced from the roast and served with applesauce or kraut ot whatever you like. Berghoff's kessler rib was sweet and smoky with a slight salt edge.

Because I knew this would probably be my last opportunity to eat at The Berghoff, I ordered two of my favorite sides, creamed spinach and sweet & sour cabbage. I know, the entree was already loaded with sauerkraut, but, this was it, now or never. It was worth the little bit of extra indigestion to get two cabbage dishes. The creamed spinach, while very good, seemed different from what I remember. Back in the old days there was a hint of nutmeg adding depth to the dish. Last night the nutmeg was replaced by some other spice or herb that I'm still trying to identify. There was a trace of a licorice aftertaste, so maybe anise seed. Still, there was something else there that I'm not sure of. Oh well, I've got leftovers so maybe I'll figure it out.

Mrs. Roadhouse and one of the daughters both ordered pot roast. The other daughter had chicken schnitzel, a chicken interpretation of the classic wiener schnitzel. Her boyfriend had the sauerbraten.

We finished off with Black Forest cake, flourless chocolate cake and German Chocolate cake passed around the table.

Our waiter, John, was a true gentleman and an excellent veteran waiter. While there is definitely melancholy on the part of the staff, they are approaching these last few weeks with zeal and vigor. They are truly happy to see all their old customers and even the new ones who might only have come so they could tell their grandkids they'd been there.

As for me, it's kind of like when a close relative has recently passed. You want to cry but the reality just hasn't set in yet. Maybe I'll really feel it when the doors close for good at the end of February.

One last note; as we were walking out I took one last look around, paying special attention to the dark wood walls, the high ceilings, the strong hanging light fixtures, the whole masculine feel of the place, and I realized that it reminded me of another place that I had recently come to appreciate: Turner Hall up in Milwaukee! That's another post for another time. Suffice it to say that when The Berghoff is finally gone we can still find comfort and comfort food just 80 miles to the north in a room that will take us back to days remembered on Adams Street.

I went to the Berghoff, for the first (and apparently only) time last September during a visit to Chicago. I went with a friend, but I wasn't hungry -- I'd overdone the red hot/fries "thing" earlier in the day. So, I just had chicken soup and bread, but they were some of the best I'd ever had anywhere, including home-made.

I'm glad I experienced it, but I'm really sorry it's closing!

Buddy,
Thanks for your detailed review. I felt like I was reading a wonderful Obituary (oxymoron?) Talk about mixing ones emotions, Man I don't think I would want to do what you did...not because of the food, but knowing it is the last time you'll enjoy that place would be hard on me. I am the type that cries when I used to take soda bottles back to the store to get the deposit...I didn't want to part with them.
Anyway thanks for the description of the last days !!
AL

Mr. Mayor,

On so many levels it was my pleasure! Going to The Berghoff for that last repast was a no-brainer. The choice between saying goodbye with a final dinner or skipping it because it might be too hard emotionally was easy. If we had opted for the latter, knowing that we had missed the chance to go there while it was still around, that would have gnawed at me for a long time. I heartily recommend that anyone within reasonable driving distance of downtown Chicago get in to The Berghoff for one of the most memorable dining experiences they will ever have.

Buddy

P.S. Thanks for clearing up the mystery of where all those tear stained soda bottles came from.

I usually profoundly morn the loss of old classcic restauarants...but as for the Berghoff...good riddance!! Read the column in the Sun Times today..I could not agree more. This place has been running on fumes for years. The food has fallen WAY off (and I kept giving them chance after chance to improve...just got worse with every visit). Had the absolutely WORST Weinerschnitzel in history here a couple months ago..accompanied by very rude service.

I understand, however, that the classic stand up bar is staying, and that only the restaurant is going out...so at least the name will live in in that form.

I first went here many years ago with my dad who did all the "in" places in Chicago on business. I loved the room and the bustle. I went back 2 years ago when we stayed overnight downtown to see The Lion King. We had a wonderful meal, simple, and loved the bread. Our waiter was so nice, professional yet friendly to 4 very obviously bumpkin non-city people. I see the complaints about service here but what would you feel like if you worked for a place for 10-20 years or more and saw the downhill?

As a rifted Chicagoan- born on the Southside, now living in Florida- 2006 is not starting well. First Marshall Field's becomes "Macy's" and now the Berghoff, my favorite Chicago restaurant is closing....this is not progress....