‘Like a time capsule’: Change in ownership is about the only difference at Art & Alma’s Supper Club

The new owners of Art & Alma’s Supper Club and Saloon hope you don’t see all the hard work they put in to reviving the longtime Burlington establishment.

“We did a ton of work without changing a thing,” said Luke Goucher, part of the hospitality group that bought the venerable restaurant in 2023. “We embraced it for what it was.”

For a place that is considered a cherished institution for so many, change would definitely be a bad thing.

The building at 125 N. Main St. has housed a bar or restaurant since 1908 when Rulhausen’s Tavern opened. It later became a supper club that eventual namesakes Art and Alma Stark took over in the 1970s.

Terry Kupp bought it in 1987 and ran it for 35 years before retiring in 2022, when the restaurant closed.

“I was just a big fan,” said Goucher, who lives about 15 minutes from the restaurant and had eaten there countless times since his first visit about a dozen years ago. “When it closed down, we missed it.”

Goucher and his Illinois Crafted Hospitality group reached out to Kupp. They eventually struck a deal to buy the building along with the business, its recipes and its history in September of 2023. They then set an ambitious timetable of opening in December.

“We own a hospitality group, we love this restaurant and it’s just sitting here. It all just made sense,” Goucher said.

The homey dining room features about 14 tables, each set with place mats made from laminated old local newspapers that date back to the building’s early days. Photos chronicling the history of Burlington line the walls, including one from 1912 with a town sheriff and some men leaning up against the same bar located a few feet, and 120 years, away.

Both men said part of the restaurant’s appeal is that there aren’t many other true supper clubs south of the Wisconsin border.

“I think this is one of Illinois’ original supper clubs,” Goucher said. “This place has a character all its own. People love the comfort. And the building kind of gives you a warm hug when you walk in the door.”

The menu is largely the same and features recipes from a hand-written book that was passed down to them. They’ve kept the classics like their “legendary” prime rib, which comes in one-, one-and-a-half- and two-pound cuts, glazed double-cut pork chops and the salad bar with hot bacon dressing.

“We joke that if we had changed the menu, we might have gotten shanked in the parking lot. That’s how passionate people are about these offerings,” Harris said.

They’ve added some updates, like a filet medallion trio with different toppings. They plan to roll out more additions as they get their bearings. They’re still building out their wine list and expanding their craft cocktail menu.

“We’ll continue to expand on the menu just a little bit. And bring back a few more of those featured favorites, adding our own wrinkles, but without taking away anything that built the foundation of what excites people to come here,” Goucher said.

The restaurant still features the original bar from 1908 and countless antiques, many of which Kupp wanted to take with him and were negotiated into the sale when he left.

Gone were an old scale that sat on the bar for ages, a wooden model boat, a 1920 manual cash register, a mounted boar’s head and more.

“Problem is, all the customers have the same affinity for all the antiques in here that Terry did,” Goucher said. “So he left us with the coolest scavenger hunt that I’ve ever been on, and we had about three months to do it.

“It was the most obscure stuff you could think of, but we found it all,” he said.

Aside from the scavenger hunt, most of the work involved a significant kitchen upgrade.

Partner Brandon Harris, who grew up in Geneva, said his parents were “ecstatic” when he told them they were reviving the restaurant.

“There are so many people from all around the suburbs who know this place and hold it in a lot of esteem,” he said. “It’s so humbling and awe-inspiring. There are lots of people with emotional connections and stories because it’s been here for so long and it’s such a staple.”

Though the restaurant had been closed for almost a year, it had been left in good shape.

“It was all just sitting here, like a time capsule,” Goucher said.

Art & Alma’s is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday. They do not accept reservations. Call (847) 683-2883 for details.

“At the end of the day, we bought this because we loved coming here and it was a shame that it wasn’t an option anymore,” Goucher said. “It was a void in our life to not be able to come here and enjoy the meals and the memories. We wanted to continue the legacy.”