Gardner, Illinois - Al Capone Hangout

The Riviera is open again! Same recipes -- it was great to go there again!

My husband is 67 and was going to the Riviera before he was born! My in-laws were sitting at the bar in the 30's and gangsters came in with machine guns. They told the customers not to worry, just sit tight! They hauled out slot machines the owner had placed in the restaurant -- not owned by the gangsters. They were found down the road, smashed to pieces! [Joyce Nelson, 01/17/2010]

The good news: The Riviera Roadhouse reopened a few weeks ago after long-time owners Bob and Peggy Kraft retired earlier this year, with the new owner using the Riviera's old recipes.

The bad news: The Riviera received a "shut-down letter" from the City of Gardner on that puts the fate of the business and seven employees in limbo. [Tony Dale, 09/26/2009]

Great place! Stalactites hanging from the ceiling in the bar in the basement. We caught a glimpse of the owner last summer. We were saddened to hear through the Yahoo Route 66 group that they are retiring because they couldn't sell the place. The Riviera did tend to flood every spring, all their furniture in the basement was of the plastic lawn variety. Another one bites the dust... [Doug Babin, 03/19/2009]

The Riviera has closed. No one wanted to buy it and the owners retired (They worked long enough and are great people.). [Hava, 02/18/2009]

This restaurant, built in 1928 and located on Rt 66, claims to be a former hangout for Al Capone and his buddies. The owner goes as far as to post a sign in the restroom that states "Al Capone passed gas here in 1932."

The Riviera Restaurant has its dining area and bar in the basement of a huge old house. The reason, we found after speaking to 84-year old owner Bob Kraft, was that this is where they would dance and drink during Prohibition. According to Mr. Kraft, the only way you would have been able to access the basement back then was through a linen closet in what would have been the dining room (now the kitchen). Be sure to ask to see the vault, where Al and his buddies would hide booze and slot machines during a raid!

And if the story behind this eclectic place wasn't enough, there is an old cable car that had been converted into a diner in the back lot. Dubbed an official Route 66 roadside attraction, it is open year round for you to walk through and check out. Be sure to ring the still operating bell at the front. [Ron Renken, 04/02/2008]

[RA: Any worthwhile Capone attraction has a secret vault, doesn't it?]