Klas was a restaurant in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero is a town in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,268, making it the 11th-most populous municipality in Illinois. The town is named after Marcus Tullius Cicero, a R ...

, 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 Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the tri-state region of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is owned by Chicago Public Media and is f ...

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

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

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

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

. 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 (), 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 of the traditional l ...

community. The building was demolished in 2022.

History

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

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

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 multi-story building was built ...

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 Drake Hotel may refer to: ;in Canada *Drake Hotel (Toronto), Ontario ;in the United States (by state) * Drake Hotel (Chicago, Illinois), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) * Drake Hotel (Gallup, New Mexico), NRHP-listed in ...

. 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, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, 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). ...

. 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 an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. 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 a type of clock, typically pendulum clock, pendulum driven, that striking clock, 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 ope ...

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 Life is the characteristic that distinguishes organisms from inorganic substances and dead objects. Life or The Life may also refer to: Human life * Human life (disambiguation) * Human condition, the characteristics, events, and situations of h ...

''. February 7, 2001. p. 33.

Notable guests

Klas has served President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

and several Czech presidents.Ruzich, Joseph.
Cicero's roots entwined in restaurant
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''. February 27, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2021.Klas Restaurant
,

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. 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 (United States), Republican Party from the U.S. State of Illinois. Originally a journalist, Topinka served in the Illinois ...

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, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

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 and the '' de facto'' leader and most powerful member of the executive branch. The Constitution provid ...

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 20 ...

, First Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Karel Schwarzenberg Karel Schwarzenberg (, 10 December 1937 – 12 November 2023) was a Czech politician, diplomat and statesman who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic), Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from 2007 to 2009 and ...

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

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 Král (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 mus ...

, and former

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) 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 secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

. Other notable individuals who have dined at the restaurant include

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired actress and painter. Her contributions to cinema have been honored with two Golden Globe Awards, an Honorary Golden Bear, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and a s ...

, Chicago Mayor

Anton Cermak Anton Joseph Cermak (May 9, 1873 – March 6, 1933) was an American politician who served as the 44th Mayor of Chicago from April 7, 1931, until his death in 1933. He was killed by Giuseppe Zangara, whose likely target was President-elec ...

, and composer

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

.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 nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

''. September 6, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2021.Pecoraro, C. P. "Czech this! Klas still charms after 77 years", ''

''. 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 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. It is owned and operated by the Fox network through its Fox Television Stations division alongside Gary, Indiana–licensed WPWR-TV (channel 50). The two stations sh ...

. 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 category

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 2016 disestablishments in Illinois Buildings and structures demolished in 2022 Cicero, Illinois Commercial buildings completed in 1922 Czech restaurants in the United States Defunct European restaurants in the United States Defunct restaurants in Illinois Demolished buildings and structures in Illinois Restaurants established in 1922 Restaurants disestablished in 2016