Riviera Roadhouse Rendezvous
Location: Route 66 North of Gardner, IL | Venue: Former Restaurant Location
Photo By: Derecho | Date Taken: April 24, 2023 @ 11:21 am
Destroyed by fire in 2010, The Riviera Roadhouse stood at the wooded junction of Old 66 and the Mazon River, just northeast of Gardner, IL. Building it was the longtime dream of businessman Jim Girot. In 1927, just as Illinois Route 66 was being paved through the area, he was able to buy the land. Instead of building from scratch, he bought the payroll office from a coal mine in South Wilmington, IL and a former church in Gardner and proceeded to moved them to the site and joined them together. The result was what was known as the Riviera. The Riviera was a true roadhouse in every sense of the word. Once movie legends Gene Kelly and Tom Mix regularly stopped there and it was also a favorite haunt of Al Capone and was known as a gangster hangout as well. Slot machines and booze were offered to the "discrete" customer during prohibition. There was also a freezer in the basement with a heavy iron door that was used to hide booze and gambling machines in case of a raid.
In 1932, a century old horse drawn Streetcar/Diner was added to the backyard of the property. A zoo and gas station were also added to the Riviera’s complex. Jim Girot, his wife Rose and their children Irene, Violet, Larry and Lillian moved there in 1928 and members of the family lived there and operated the restaurant until it was sold to Bob and Peggy Kraft in 1973.
Bob and Peggy were transplants from Chicago. They’d owned two taverns up north and took over the Riviera as a “retirement” job. They continued serving up the Riviera’s long-time menu of steaks, chops and spaghetti. The Krafts didn’t change much else at the Riviera either. In the tradition of German rathskellers, the main restaurant was in the basement. The dumbwaiter between the restaurant and the kitchen upstairs remained
an actual WWI artillery shell. The payroll office safe was used as a cooler. The Krafts operated the Riviera until retiring for real in 2008. Shortly thereafter, in 2009, it was sold to a gentleman from Joliet who reopened it for a year or so before closing it once more. Sadly, on June 8, 2010, the Riviera burned to the ground and was lost forever. Today, the former location of the Riviera Roadhouse is marked with a simple sign and photo op platform that highlights this once great Route 66 roadie stop. The Streetcar/Diner escaped the fire and is now located in the town of Gardner as a Route 66 Attraction and it is situated next to their vintage two-cell stone jailhouse.
Here's an interesting fact - - Back in the 1980's my parents had one of their Anniversary parties at The Riviera, so I actually have somewhat of a personal connection to the Riviera. Thanks for reading my little add-on story related to the photo above!