The Berghoff Restaurant - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
cldisme
N 41° 52.758 W 087° 37.716
16T E 447842 N 4636566
The Historic Berghoff Restaurant has re-opened with new owners, new name, but the old sign. Hooray!
Waymark Code: WM24VY
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 09/04/2007
Views: 125
Compiled from the old
Berghoff's Restaurant website and the current
17/west at the Berghoff website:
Herman Joseph Berghoff left his native Dortmund, Germany, at age 17 and landed penniless in Brooklyn in 1870. Barely 12 years later he founded his namesake brewery in Fort Wayne, IN.
The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 proved to be a perfect introduction when he sold the beer to fair-goers on the now-famous Midway.
Inspired by the wide public acclaim the beer received at the fair, Herman opened the Berghoff Cafe in 1898 to showcase his celebrated Dortmunder-style beer. Originally located at the corner of State and Adams streets, one door down from its present location, the bar sold beer for a nickel and offered sandwiches for free.
The bar remained open even through Prohibition by selling near-beer and Bergo soda pop and became a full-service restaurant that still carries the Berghoff name. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933 the city issued liquor license No. 1 to the Berghoff and has done so each year ever since.
In December 2005 third-generation Herman Berghoff and his wife, Jan, announced that after 107 years of operation the Berghoff would close in 2006. In the final days long lines snaked outside the building as customers waited for a last meal at their beloved restaurant. With the opening of 17/west at the Berghoff, Jan and Herman's daughter Carlyn Berghoff brought back her family favorites, adding a modern culinary twist. The downstairs café offers more casual fare.