New life for Elgin's Dutch Inn West pub
The Dutch Inn West in Elgin of years past was a dive, and not much else. Now it's still a dive, but a clean, family friendly one that offers great food, general manager Leo “Dog” Shales says.
“This place was known as a rough, tough, sock 'em bar in the old days,” said Shales, who took over a little more than three years ago. “I still like to call it a dive, but with great management and fantastic food.”
The food part is thanks to Shales' buddy Steve Hopp, who started running Hopp Stop BBQ there about eight months ago.
Hopp owns two outdoor smokers, including that one that he was told belonged to country icon Willie Nelson, he said. “It's a real Texas smoker,” he said. “It's 5-inch thick steel made of Texas gas pipeline.”
Hopp has been preparing a five-day corned beef extravaganza in honor of St. Patrick's Day, for which he expects to cook around 3,000 pounds of meat. His secret? Slow cooking on fresh fruitwood, and making sure knives “slice through it like butter.”
The Dutch Inn West, at 36W610 Foothill Road just east of Randall Road, will have St. Patrick's specials through Sunday, including $10 corned beef sandwiches and $12 corned beef and cabbage dinner. On Friday, patrons will get free corned beef hash from 6 to 11 a.m., and the first 50 will get free T-shirts, Shales said.
Shales said he has 30 years of bar management experience, including time at Bandito Barney's and Rosie O'Hare's Public House, both in East Dundee, where he also worked with Hopp.
The Elgin pub's owners wanted Shales to clean up the place because “it was getting rundown,” Shales said. “It was pretty much in disarray.”
It now has eight flat-screen TVs, new floors, tables and chairs, and remodeled bathrooms. The pub opens at 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at 9 a.m. on Sunday, and an outdoor courtyard is opening this summer, hopefully June 1, Shales said.
Fourteen-year veteran bartender Liz Geissman said the change “was a long time coming.” The pub has existed for about 50 years, about 25 of them as the Dutch Inn West, she said.
“It's great to have a real kitchen again,” she said. “For a while we were just flipping burgers and doing whatever we could.”
Customers Daryl McGehee and Makalika Ioapo of Carpentersville said they started frequenting the pub when the renovations began. They took home some of the old decorations, many replaced by Cubs paraphernalia, because Shales is a huge fan.
“Everyone is really friendly here,” McGehee said.
Dutch Inn West has hosted several fundraisers since Shales took over, including to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, St. Baldrick's Foundation and Folds of Honor. “It's good to bring back to the community,” Shales said, “and it's good for the pub.”