New look, old charm as Ray's Evergreen opens doors again

This figures to be an even grander opening than the first time - in 1928 - for Ray's Evergreen.

The longtime tavern on the west-side of St. Charles reopens Friday as a restaurant and bar after four months of construction and facelift work completed by new owners Peter Lappin and Malcomb Kanute, who bought the business from Bernie Deutsch.

Deutsch had owned Ray's for the past 25 years, adding more chapters to the colorful history of the St. Charles landmark, which opened in 1928 as Gus' Evergreen Tavern when Gus Van Glabeke began illegally selling liquor at the site at 1400 W. Main St. during Prohibition.

The Ray's name came in 1948 when Ray Triest bought the business. Those who go to Ray's now will enter a completely refurbished dining and bar area inside and a new attraction - an outdoor Tiki bar and patio in the rear area that used to provide Rolle Bolle, the Belgian bowling game popular among regulars at Ray's and residents of the nearby "Belgian Town" area along nearby Dean Street.

"This is a 40-foot outdoor bar, the only outdoor bar in St. Charles," said Scott Dobbes, who will serve as the new manager at Ray's after years of working at Za Za Trattoria and the Hotel Baker in St. Charles. Dobbes emphasized that the new dining area, which will hold as many as 40 people, will offer "something for everybody" at reasonable prices. "We will have sandwiches and entrees; steak, seafood and pasta," Dobbes said. "The main thing is that everything is made to order."

Deutsch will stay on as an adviser to the new owners, at least until his name is off the lease next spring.

"I'm really pleased with the place and the way it has turned out," Deutsch said of the makeover, which should attract family dining. "They got some old photos of Ray's and its patrons and they have them hanging on the walls, so that was nice."

Deutsch said he was particularly pleased with the new dawning of Ray's because his son, John, who was killed in a work-related accident when he was an employee with the city, used to tend bar for Bernie on occasion.

"John had always hoped that someday we could do something like this to Ray's," Deutsch said. "If John was still around, he'd be pretty pleased with this."