Last call coming for 85-year-old Palatine tavern started by 'Moonshine Joe'

Palatine's White House Inn tavern has been open since just after Prohibition ended, but last call is coming soon for the beloved old-school joint started by "Moonshine Joe."

Manager Jack Bruns, part of the Brzostowski family that has owned the White House for all 85 of its years on the southwest corner of Palatine and Quentin roads, said it's been more than a place for folks to drink.

"Our customers tell us when the toilet paper's out," said Bruns, 70. "They treat it like their home."

Increasing challenges in operating a mom-and-pop bar and some family health problems are behind a decision not to renew the White House's liquor license, said Bruns, a Carpentersville resident who's worked there for about 25 years.

He said the tavern will serve its last drinks June 30, the day the license expires. However, the door is slightly ajar for a possible return.

Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said research indicates the White House has the longest-standing liquor license in town, although there are no documents from the early 20th century to provide confirmation.

Drawing blue-collar and executive-type customers typically into good conversation and laughter, the tidy White House has handsome wood paneling that gives it a northern Wisconsin vibe and provides kind of a respite in a metropolitan area. The 55-capacity tavern has a pair flat-screen televisions behind the bar, a pool table and a pinball machine.

Then there's the jukebox that still accepts quarters and offers 15 plays for $5. That's been an attraction for Palatine resident Tom Ross, who has patronized the White House for the past 17 years.

He's among those expressing sadness at it possibly closing for good.

"Everyone likes the coin jukebox," said Ross, 64. "No one has a coin jukebox anymore."

Jill Piccolino, 61, of Palatine, said she'd miss the White House's old-time atmosphere she has enjoyed while chatting and relaxing with work colleagues and friends for the past 20 years.

"Where can you go where you get a drink and they give you (free) pretzels," Piccolino added. "It's just such a charming place."

Construction on the White House began in 1918. Work by Bruns' grandfather on the bar - underneath the four-bedroom, one-bathroom home - finished about the time Prohibition began in 1920, preventing it from opening, but leading to something else.

"I guess he started a coal-and-ice kind of business, but everybody called him 'Moonshine Joe,'" said Bruns, laughing at the memory. "My mother said late at night there would be some big cars coming in and they'd have meetings down in the basement. I guess he kind of hid the moonshine in the basement, in with the coal to take it wherever."

The Brzostowski family finally opened the White House Inn soon after Prohibition ended in December 1933. Eleven children were born in the home and most stayed in the area.

Lambert "Butch" Brzostowski, a decorated World War II veteran who served in the Army Medical Corps in the European theater, ran the tavern from 1954 to 1994 and died six years after retiring. Of the 11 Brzostowski children, four brothers are alive.

There is a chance the family could reopen the cozy tavern if current owner George Brzostowski, 88, returns to good health and moves back to his home above the White House. If that happens, Bruns said he hopes Palatine village government would be willing to issue another liquor license without requiring the significant building improvements required under current standards.

Should the June 30 closing become permanent, Bruns said he'll miss seeing the many customers he has gotten to know over the years. He said the bar's homeyness beloved by patrons was by design.

"There's been no arguing here," he said. "It's been like that since my grandparents. They just ran it like a pretty straight bar. I mean, everybody said we run it like a church. But that's the way it's always been and that's the way it's going to be."