The Golden Pheasant

The Golden Pheasant-Elmhurst, IL, originally uploaded by William 74.

Another week, another Neon Friday! And, another old school restaurant to visit.

Mack's Golden Pheasant has been a fixture in suburban Elmhurst, Illinois since 1948. Actually the roots of the restaurant go back to the 30's, when owners Frank and Mae Mack bought a tavern on the corner of routes 83 and 64, which they expanded to a full restaurant after the war. Patterned after an Austrian chalet, the restaurant proved popular and did great business until a fire in 1962 gutted the building. Frank and his sons rebuilt, in the same chalet style, and the restaurant continues to thrive today, still in the hands of the Mack family.

Anyway, the restaurant is pretty neat, and the sign out front is in excellent shape, and is still lit up at night. Incidentally, the Golden Pheasant got it's name from Frank Mack's hobby as an exotic bird collector. For many years the restaurant's windows looked out over this menagerie, including a golden pheasant, of course!