NOOOOO!!!!!
Berghoff says 'auf wiedersehen'

"We share the sadness that many feel about the closing of the restaurant [ed. so don't do it!!! sell it!],'' Herman Berghoff, 70, who owns the restaurant along with his wife, Jan, said in a statement. "It's been an honor to be part of the fabric of Chicago, but after being in the business for over a half century, Jan and I feel that now is the right time to start a new chapter in our lives.''

The restaurant's history is intermingled with Chicago's. It was such a downtown staple that after Prohibition ended in December 1933, the city issued The Berghoff Liquor License No. 1.

It's been around for 107 years, and serves the only edible creamed spinach in existence. I demand the recipe! And the beer! And dear lord, where will we get our Wiener Schnitzel now?

When I worked in the Loop, it was where we used to grab a quick one at the stand-up bar on our way to the El after work, or a quick lunch in the noisiest dining room in existence (marble floors echo something fierce).

Interesting place, too, in that the waiters go through a steamtable line for you and are lifelong professionals, many quite elderly. I remember one saying he followed the seasons, and headed to a restaurant in Miami for the winter.

First Fields, now this. There will be no reason to go downtown anymore -- except to get a cheese corn/carmel mix.

Oh, lord, please make sure Garrett Popcorn shops stay in business! Please!
- posted by Cynthia @ 10:14 PM | | | Link |