Klas was a restaurant in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an Incorporated town#Illinois, incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was ...

, founded in 1922 and shuttered in 2016, which specialized in Bohemian cuisine.Rodkin, Dennis.
What's That Building? Klas Restaurant
,

WBEZ WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...

. July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.Hammond, David.
Klas
, ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

''. Retrieved July 25, 2021.Deuchler, Douglas (2006).
Cicero Revisited
'.

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...

. p. 85. Retrieved July 25, 2021. The restaurant served numerous high ranking Czech and American officials, along with many other notable individuals, and has served as an important institution for the

Czech American Czech Americans ( cz, Čechoameričané), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority o ...

community. The building was demolished in 2022.

History

The restaurant was founded in 1922 by Adolph Klas, who was born in

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

and moved to the United States at age 26."A Small Slice of Old Bohemia Is New Klas on Cermak", '' Cicero Life''. February 4, 1934. p. 7. Adolph Klas had previously worked at the

Edgewater Beach Hotel The Edgewater Beach Hotel was a resort hotel complex on Lake Michigan in the far-north neighborhood community of Edgewater in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Benjamin H. Marshall and Charles E. Fox. The first section was built in 1916 for its o ...

the Blackstone Hotel The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the Natio ...

, and the Drake Hotel. The restaurant was redecorated in 1934, featuring the artwork of Mary Adamec and Albert Rohls. Russian singer and artist Gennadi Gordeyev, who fought against the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

in the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, painted multiple murals that are inside the restaurant's Russian Room.Quinn, Myers.
Ask Geoffrey: Cicero's Klas Restaurant
,

WTTW WTTW (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcaster Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is sister to commercial classical music radio station WFMT (98.7 FM). The ...

. July 29, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021. The first floor bar room was rebuilt to replicate the appearance of a 14th Century Bohemian tap room. The restaurant's dining rooms were named after their respective decor, and included the Moravian Room, the Russian or Boyar Room, the George Washington Room, the Fountain Room, and the Garden Room, which overlooked a garden with a fountain and wishing well.Kann, Don. "Klas Commemorates With 40 Years of Fine Food", ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. June 28, 1962. p. W11. The restaurant was elaborately decorated, with hand carved woodwork, a wrought-iron balcony, stained glass windows, historically themed paintings and murals, chandeliers,

cuckoo clock A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...

s, and other European antiques and objects of art. Adolph Klas died in 1962 and his widow Ella died in 1966. Ella Klas's brother, Charlie Hoch, would run the restaurant until 1978.Saccaro, Susan. "Landmark reopens on Cermak Road", '' Cicero Life''. December 3, 1980. p. 5. In 1980, the restaurant was sold to Milena and Laddie Kindl and Jaroslav Kratky.Pecoraro, C. P. "Kratky vows to keep Klas surviving, thriving", '' The Life''. February 7, 2001. p. 33.

Notable guests

Klas has served President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

and several Czech presidents.Ruzich, Joseph.
Cicero's roots entwined in restaurant
, ''

''. February 27, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2021.Klas Restaurant
,

Landmarks Illinois The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois – also known as Landmarks Illinois – is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1971 to prevent the demolition of the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan designed Chicago Stock Exchange Building. A ...

. May 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

Judy Baar Topinka Judy Baar Topinka (January 16, 1944 – December 10, 2014) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party from the U.S. State of Illinois. Originally a journalist, Topinka served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1981 ...

launched her campaign for Governor of Illinois at Klas in 2005. In 2012, a reception in honor of the Prime Minister and Members of the Government of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

was held at Klas, which was attended by

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic The prime minister of the Czech Republic (Czech: ''Předseda vlády České republiky'') is the head of the government of the Czech Republic. The prime minister is the de-facto leader of the executive branch, chairs the Cabinet and selects its m ...

Petr Nečas Petr Nečas (; born 19 November 1964) is a Czech former politician who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic and leader of the Civic Democratic Party from 2010 to 2013, and as Member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) from 1993 to 2013 ...

, First Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Karel Schwarzenberg Prince Karel of Schwarzenberg (, born 10 December 1937) is a Czech politician, former leader of the TOP 09 party and was its candidate for president of the Czech Republic in the 2013 election. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies ( ...

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Alexandr Vondra Alexandr Vondra (; born 17 August 1961) is a Czech politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic from 2010 to 2012 under Prime Minister Petr Nečas and has been Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019 ...

, musician

Ivan Král Ivan Kral (12 May 1948 – 2 February 2020) was a Czech Americans, Czech-born American composer, filmmaker, guitarist, record producer, bassist, and singer-songwriter. He worked across genres including pop music, punk rock, garage rock, rock, ja ...

, and former

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...

. Other notable individuals who have dined at the restaurant include

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter. Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...

, Chicago Mayor

Anton Cermak Anton Joseph Cermak ( cs, Antonín Josef Čermák, ; May 9, 1873 – March 6, 1933) was an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Chicago, Illinois from April 7, 1931 until his death on March 6, 1933. He was killed by an assassin, ...

, and composer

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

.Esposito, Stefano.
With Cicero's Klas Restaurant under contract, its Old World Russian murals could be lost
, ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

''. September 6, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2021.Pecoraro, C. P. "Czech this! Klas still charms after 77 years", '' The Life''. February 25, 1999. p. 8.

Closure and efforts to save building

The restaurant closed in 2016. It was sold to developers in 2019, and faced demolition when the owner applied for a demolition permit. However, the demolition permit expired and it was put back on the market in 2021. In May 2021,

listed the building as one of Illinois's most endangered historic sites. A coalition of interested parties led by entrepreneur Marek Kutek, American

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...

President Jean Hruby, and immigration attorney Michael F. Jordan had an option to purchase the building by October 2, 2021, and raised money to purchase the building and ultimately restore it and reopen it as a museum, restaurant, banquet hall, and center for immigrant services.Group hopes to save historic Klas Restaurant in Cicero
,

FOX 32 Chicago WFLD (channel 32) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Gary, Indiana–licensed MyNetworkTV ...

. June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021. However, their efforts were unsuccessful and the building was demolished in late May and early June 2022.

References

{{Commons cat

External links

Klas Museum websiteVideo showing the interior of Klas and the effort to save the buildingWhat's That Building? Klas Restaurant In Cicero — WBEZ ChicagoAsk Geoffrey: Cicero's Klas Restaurant — WTTW
1922 establishments in Illinois Commercial buildings completed in 1922 Cicero, Illinois Restaurants established in 1922 Restaurants disestablished in 2016 Defunct European restaurants in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 2022 Demolished buildings and structures in Illinois