Elmhurst Restaurant Opens For First Time In More Than Year

ELMHURST, IL — Mack's Golden Pheasant Restaurant opened its doors Tuesday for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic more than a year ago.

Mack's is not just any restaurant. It advertises itself as the oldest continuously owned restaurant in DuPage County, founded in 1948 by Czech immigrants Frank and Mae Mack at North Avenue and Route 83.

According to the restaurant's website, the restaurant's name, Golden Pheasant, was the result of Frank Mack's love of exotic birds. In 1962, a fire destroyed much of the building, but Frank and his son, Donald, rebuilt it into the structure where the restaurant operates today.

The website says the restaurant had another "brush with flames" and weathered flooding in 1987.

"Yet the building stands as sturdy as the 200-year-old oak tree in the beautiful back garden," the website reads. "This garden bears the fingerprints and careful planning of Mae Mack."

The Golden Pheasant is carried on today by Frank and Mae's grandson, Steve, along with his wife, Debra, and their children, Luke and Jessica, according to the website.

The restaurant announced its reopening on Facebook, attracting more than 150 comments.

"I love this cozy place!" one woman wrote. "Your staff always makes us feel welcome and at home."