Cary bar owner vows to rebuild after fire

Outside Oberheide's Soft Landings Tavern on Monday, it was pretty much like any other night at the Cary bar.

Regulars from the neighborhood gathered on the deck, drinking beer, eating sandwiches and swapping stories.

But inside, the bar as they remembered it was gone, destroyed in an early morning fire that melted televisions, charred bar stools, shattered glass and a blackened, warped dart board.

Friends and regulars stopped by the bar at 203 E. Main Street Road throughout the day, shaking their heads as they viewed the wreckage.

"It's a tough day," said owner Tom Oberheide. "It's more than a business. It's a fun way of life."

As friends cut plywood to board up the bar, Oberheide said he definitely planned to rebuild.

"No doubt in my mind," Oberheide said. "You've got to have a tavern within walking distance of your house."

No cause has been determined yet for the fire, but Oberheide said it could have been an electrical malfunction. There were no injuries, firefighters said.

The blaze, which took firefighters from five departments about 45 minutes to get under control, did not spread to any surrounding businesses or homes.

No dollar estimate of the damage was available.

Oberheide was in good spirits despite the setback, eating subs and drinking beer with about a dozen friends on the deck behind the bar.

Oberheide said the bar in unincorporated McHenry County has been open since the '50s. He bought the bar 12 years ago and took the name, Soft Landings, from his longtime hobby - flying hot air balloons.

Marlene Lehr of Cary, one of the bar's four employees, said she's been with Oberheide since the beginning.

"He bought the bar. A week later, I started," Lehr said. "It's the best thing that ever happened to me."

Oberheide's friends said the bar often hosted benefits for local causes, including raffles for AMVETS, a charity that helps veterans.

"Anytime we need something, he's always there for us," said Cary resident Bob Janu, who works with AMVETS.

Oberheide's father, Chris Oberheide, stopped by to survey the damage Monday afternoon. The elder Oberheide often visits the bar on Thursdays to play gin rummy with his son and sip Dewar's scotch

"He had a lot of friends here," said Chris Oberheide, who lives in Arlington Heights. "Most of his customers were his friends."

Lee Luttrell of Cary said he's been coming to Oberheide's for about five years.

"This is a sad day for a lot of us," Luttrell said. "The next bar I make it out to, the owner might not give me a ride home."

Melissa Harjung of Cary said she knew she wanted to stay in the neighborhood when she walked into Oberheide's four years ago.

"You come in here just to see people," Harjung said. "It's such a family here."

When firefighters arrived at Oberheide's a few minutes after 5 a.m. Monday, no one was inside, and black smoke was pouring out of the building.

Firefighters from Cary, Barrington, Carpentersville, Crystal Lake and Wauconda helped fight the blaze.

The fire was the second in two days for Cary firefighters. The department put out a garage fire Sunday in Oakwood Hills, north of Cary. No one was hurt in Sunday's fire.