When Prohibition hit in 1920, instead of closing or running a quiet speakeasy like half the city did, the Berghoffs just started brewing legal near-beer and their own root beer instead — the same root beer recipe still on tap today. When Prohibition ended in 1933, the restaurant was issued Chicago's Liquor License No. 1, a detail the family still displays with real pride.
The bar stayed men-only for decades after that too, until seven members of the National Organization for Women walked up and demanded service in 1969 — the bartenders reportedly complied, but kept calling them "sir" out of pure stubbornness. The restaurant briefly closed in 2006 when the third generation retired, then reopened within months once their daughter took it back over; it's now fourth-generation family-run, sauerbraten and wienerschnitzel still the anchor of the menu, with an in-house brewery added in 2018 for anyone who wants the beer with actual alcohol in it this time.
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