Places That Are Disappearing (Goldyburgers)

Places That Are Disappearing (Goldyburgers)

Driving to Goldyburgers in Forest Park for lunch yesterday, we heard on WBEZ that McDonald’s led the Dow in 2011, up 31%.

Meanwhile, at lunchtime in Goldyburgers, there were just two tables occupied. Business was not booming, which is too bad, because this is a real place, an authentic chunk of the past that somehow seems to survive despite the fact that you can eat cheaper and faster at McDonald’s and maybe even better any one of a number of other local quick service restaurants.

What Goldyburgers has going for it is atmosphere.

Now, it may not be the atmosphere you like, and Yelp puts Goldyburgers in their “dive bar” category, but it’s quite definitely the atmosphere that I like. The wooden booths, the Formica tables on metal pedestals that look like they came off a battleship, the tin ceiling, all these elements look to be original equipment. The Wife said, “You can feel that this is the kind of place that has had generations of people come through it.”



Our friend Ben Grimes told us he used to come here with his dad and play with his brother in the front room of Goldyburgers while his dad watched sports with the others in the back bar. Ben’s 33 years old now.

Mary, our server, introduced herself when we walked in, checked in on us frequently, seemed to be genuinely concerned about our happiness, and was extremely apologetic when she had to admit that the Frank’s Hot Mustard (which the menu encouraged me to ask for) hadn’t been available for years.

Mike Sullivan, the owner of Goldyburgers, just celebrated his 30th year there. The place used to be owned by the Goldstein family, but Mary figured most of them were gone by now.

We had the Goldyburger and the Friday Fish Fry, and they were both pretty much exactly as they probably always were. Not spectacular, but when eaten in the beaten down dining room, which used to be the old bar, they were probably tastier than they would have been in many other places.





Goldyburgers opened in 1926, in the middle of Prohibition, so I’m guessing the bar came after Prohibition was repealed (or was this place actually serving booze during Prohibition?). There are stories here; you can feel them.

While we were having lunch in a side booth, two guys stuck in their heads, saw the empty room, and left. That’s too bad, because this place deserves more traffic and because even when it’s seemingly deserted, there’s a lot of life at Goldyburgers, but it's one of those places that is perhaps going to be gone before too long.

On this last day of the year, it seemed right to recognize places like this that seem to be on the way out. Or maybe they'll last forever.



Goldyburgers
7316 Circle Avenue
(between Belvidere Ave & Franklin St)
Forest Park, IL 60130
(708) 366-0750

Nicely evocative piece, David.

I haven't been to Goldyburgers, but I've been to places like it -- especially in Wisconsin. There is a sense of timelessness, and one expects everyone to be kinder and a bit old fashioned -- and often they are. While it seems very likely that more of these places will fade, especially closer to a large, throbbing, evolving metropolis like Chicago, I hope we keep some of these cultural anchors.

I like the way it looks inside. Vintagy. I have never been there. Goldy's is slighty out of my striking distance, although one branch of my family is from Forest Park, and has lived there since l895 or before. It looks clean inside...I don't know about the food but its probably okay. Maybe better than ok. I don' t know why somebody does not buy these businesses instead of them closing down. Maybe they can whomp up the quality of the food a bit and make a big success out of it. Its so sad when places like this close down. I think if you could make a success of it, you could earn a good income. I know the guy who owned Poochies always had fancy cars and a lot of gold chains and did not seem to be doing too badly. If he is still alive now, he is probably sitting on a beach in Ft. Lauderdale now sipping a tall cool one.

Well said David.
I'm a huge fan of Goldyburger. I've taken my oldest daughter there about a 1/2 dozen times and I think she's starting to "get" it.
I really hope the place is around when she grows up and can introduce it to someone new, maybe even her little sisters.

toria wrote: I know the guy who owned Poochies always had fancy cars and a lot of gold chains and did not seem to be doing too badly. If he is still alive now, he is probably sitting on a beach in Ft. Lauderdale now sipping a tall cool one.

Harvey Bernstein is very much alive. I saw him at the Skokie Post Office a couple of weeks ago.

Besides Goldy's, The Oak Park Boys have visited other "Places That are Disappearing." Tom's Steakhouse for one. I can't believe this place will be around much longer. Al's (in Cicero) seems like a candidate. Thankfully, Golden Steer seems to be doing a pretty healthy business. I know Klas is on our short list of places to go. Seems like the near-west suburbs has more than its fair share of places that are disappearing.

Dave148 wrote:

toria wrote: I know the guy who owned Poochies always had fancy cars and a lot of gold chains and did not seem to be doing too badly. If he is still alive now, he is probably sitting on a beach in Ft. Lauderdale now sipping a tall cool one.

Harvey Bernstein very much alive. I saw him at the Skokie Post Office a couple of weeks ago.

I run into Havey every now and again. He's still in the area and definitely not in Florida. It's true that he drives a fancy car, but he had/has other business interests besides Poochie's.

I am glad he is still alive and in the area. He seemed like a nice guy and he did have a way with fries and cheddarburgers.

royal blue burger was always my favorite
the beer garden is a great place to watch a ballgame come summertime

The Royal Blue is a damn good burger.

ETA - The Olive burger is also great.

I have never been to Goldyburger but I have had my fair share of visiting places in the same category. David's post very much reminded me of Manzo's on Irving Park which closed recently. It was sad and unfortunate that a family run place with so much history and with pretty good food was seemingly dying in front of our eyes. Every time we dined inside (which was on average every couple of months) we'd see that old school decor and marvel at what a fun place it may have been in its heydey. They got business on most days we went but it seemed to be carry out and delivery more so than sit down and marvel at the decor. In my opinion, those people who chose not to dine in were missing out on something special. Sitting inside and staring at the empty seats often gave us this longing sense of it wanting to survive but knowing that it won't be much longer until it doesn't make it. More times than not we managed to ignore it and enjoy ourselves and when I see reviews on Yelp for places such as these where people cry of outdated decor, I always have to wonder why it matters if the decor is up to date or not. Why does it effing matter? I for one love walking into a time warp but if the food is exceptional and service is homey and very well done (as it was for us every time we set foot inside Manzo's) then it should not matter if the forty year old booths that are in mint condition are still there making it look "old."

This also includes of lot of the long gone diners, old school Italian restaurants and hot dog and Italian beef stands my father would take me to some of which have died in the last few years including LeSabre on Montrose and Damen and Roselli's in Jefferson Park. Sigh. Here's hoping 2012 contains some survivors.

I ate at Manzo's fairly regularly in the early 80's as a guest of family freinds who adored the place.
When it was hopping it was a fantastic place and I have very fond memories of my time spent there.

This may get me yelled at but last weekend I brought the family to an old, timeless place - RJ Grunts. I am only in my mid 40s but the place seemed right out of the 70s. (BTW, I love the place - nothing fancy but the gruntburger was great, loved my chips. Great strawberry shake also. And it is a good place for little kids.)

Back in the 80s there seemed to be a place like this by every college campus - hippie vibe, cartoons on the menus.

AngrySarah wrote:This may get me yelled at but last weekend I brought the family to an old, timeless place - RJ Grunts. I am only in my mid 40s but the place seemed right out of the 70s. (BTW, I love the place - nothing fancy but the gruntburger was great, loved my chips. Great strawberry shake also. And it is a good place for little kids.)

Back in the 80s there seemed to be a place like this by every college campus - hippie vibe, cartoons on the menus.

RJ's was the prototype, copied all over the country by unimaginative restaurateurs, and it's endured for a reason (not a reason I'd visit for, but a reason nonetheless). I spent many a Saturday night at its Evanston sibling, Fritz That's It, during my high school years.