HISTORY OF AL CAPONE'S HIDEAWAY & STEAKHOUSE Gladys Meyers still winds her way down to Al Capone's Hideaway for a few beers and some good conversation in the big house that sits on the shore of the Fox river, just 40 miles west of Chicago. It's not as hard for her to find the place as it is for the newcomers to the restaurant and speakeasy in the northwest suburban Valley View (between St. Charles and Elgin on the Fox river). The beer probably doesn't taste the same to her as it does to newcomers either. That's because back in 1927 (until 1938), when she was Gladys Reitmayer, she and her husband owned the reputed Al Capone Hideout. Until "Scarface" took over, they made their own beer in a hidden cellar behind the chicken coop and pumped it to their thirsty Prohibition Era patrons through an intricate copper tubing system that remains underground to this day. Bill Brooks, Al Capone's present owner, says the 77 year old Elgin resident hasn't lost the spunk that carried her through the police raids, barroom brawls and three marriages and divordes to the man who built Reitmayer's Beer Garden in 1917. Chicago boasted many bootlegging syndicates at the time, according to Mrs. Meyers, and rival gang members from a few would visit the Reitmayers every other month, each suspecting the other was selling beer to the couple. "They were always takin' samples" recalls Mrs. Meyers. "Snoopers, we called 'em". The states Attorney wished us good luck," Mrs. Meyers chuckles. "He was a good friend of ours after we paid all the fines and he got me my divorces". On one of Mrs. Meyers first visits to Al Capone's Hideaway she brought her photo album to reminisce with Bill and Claudia Brooks. "It's all changed," she says. Although the first floor remains as a restaurant as it was in the 20's, the second floor, which used to be the Reitmayers' apartment, is now an authentic speakeasy where Brooks has a 3 piece Jazz Ensamble playing on Saturday nights. One thing remains the same though, people come from miles around to enjoy great food, tasty spirits and lively entertainment. "We were supposed to have had the biggest crowd around", says Mrs. Meyers. "We had people from all over. All kinds from Aurora, Illinois and towns in between. We had a lot of railroad men. But Sunday was our worst day. We had people from rival towns come in. I could have gone against (Sugar Ray) Robinson then, I was in trainging." Brooks supports Mrs. Meyers stories with rumored reports of a rival bar down the road owned by infamous gangster George "Bugs" Moran. The Brooks' have done a great job of recapturing the atmosphere of the Prohibition days in their speakeasy. All patrons enter by the stairway where the famous beer cooler (that held 500 to 600 fifths of beer) once stood. Once inside the atmosphere is as roaring as the 20's with music by Dixieland stars like saxophonist Franz Jackson, Johnny Waters and Glenn Koch. When in the Chicago area call toll-free 1888-SCARFACE for directions to Al Capone's Hideaway.
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