Never Ate There, But Roth's Blackhawk Gone

The Chicagoland restaurant scene is down by one more old place (and I don't think this is going to be the sneak Berghoff closing thing, it's gone).


Don Roth's Blackhawk has been serving food in Wheeling, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, for forty years until this past New Year's Eve when the last dinner were served. That means no more famous "spinning salad bowls."

Owner Ann Roth has decided the time has come to close the restaurant that dates back to 1920 in Chicago with the opening of the 600-seat Blackhawk restaurant at Wabash Avenue and Randolph Street.

Her adult children decided not to continue the family tradition.

Otto Roth opened the original one and by 1926 featured live orchestra broadcast over WGN radio as well as performances by the likes of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, Mel Torme and Perry Como.

Don Roth, who died in 2003, took over from his father in 1944 and later moved the restaurant out to a 150-year-old farmhouse in Wheeling at 61 N. Milwaukee Avenue.

The rise of TV caused him to go with "the food's the show" and he introduced his signature dish, the "spinning salad bowl. servers prepared the salad in front of patrons, tossing the 21 ingredients while spinning the bowl.

Of interest was a 1969 menu that had a New York sirloin steak for $6.75 and glass of wine for $1.

Jan. 1, 2010 Chicago Tribune by Lisa Black.

Guess I Should Have Eaten There While I Had the Chance, But Always Figured It Was Too Expensive for a Mere Teacher. --RoadDog