Time to honor Frank & Mary’s: A classic Chicago tavern
Frank & Mary’s Tavern, 2905 N. Elston. (D. Hoekstra photo)
There used to be a lot of blue-collar bars like Frank and Mary’s in Chicago.
You might walk through the front door under a 44-pound replica muskie in a glass case. A brown “Richard J. Daley Mayor Vote Democratic” shopping bag might sit in a dusty frame near the flickering television near the old tin ceiling. A silver toothpick dispenser might sit in the middle of the bar.
But there’s no right in might.
Brother and sister Frank and Mary Stark opened Frank and Mary’s, 2905 N. Elston in 1972. The muskie, the Daley bag, and the toothpicks are bookmarks in their lives. They grew up at Belmont and Broadway. Their father was a Chicago welder and a welder in the German army. Their mother was a homemaker.
Identified only by its brick facade, glass block windows, and hanging Old Style sign, Frank and Mary’s once was a beloved lunch spot for workers along the Avondale corridor. Clients included folks from the Hammond Organ Company, Advanced Transportation, and Air King, where workers were spinning out fans at Belmont and Rockwell. They’re all gone now.
And Mary Stark died on Aug. 19 after a long illness. She was 77 years old.
Mary’s death accelerated Frank’s retirement. Frank, 72, will work his last shift on October 1. Frank and Mary went together like salt and pepper. Mary was the queen of the tavern’s small kitchen. Frank worked the bar. Mary was known for her German plum tarts, pot roast, and especially her meatloaf (without tomato sauce) with a side of chicken cacciatore. I once told her the hearty food reminded me of the great Busy Bee diner in Wicker Park. She smiled and nodded because those meals were way before molecular gastronomy dinners.
That would not be Frank and Mary’s.
Frank commutes to Frank and Mary’s from his home in northwest suburban Itasca. Frank and Mary’s kids were not interested and/or were unable to take over the business. But a good neighborhood bar always creates meaningful friendships.
Tavern wall tribute to Mary assembled by her niece Elizabeth. Note the “Mother of Meatloaf.”
Tony Mata has emerged as one of Frank and Mary’s best friends. Because of Tony, Frank and Mary’s will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
I’ve known Mata since 2002 when he was the chef in the Silver Palm train car and later as bartender-manager at the Matchbox, 770 N. Milwaukee, adjacent to the Silver Palm. Mata is stepping up to the considerable plate and will manage Frank and Mary’s. Mata attended the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. His first cooking gig was in 1993 at the now-defunct Zinfandel restaurant on the Near North Side.
Frank and Mary’s is in good hands. Mata has a pure heart and an empathetic business sense. He embraced the history of the 1947 rail car that became the Silver Palm and he will embrace the legacy of Frank and Mary’s. Mata has been a regular at Frank and Mary’s since 2012 when he moved into the neighborhood.
Tony Mata (L) and Frank Stark. Two Chicago guys.
“We talked it over as a family,” Frank explained. “Tony came to the house. My sister’s son (Fred Feichtel) is involved, too. We said to give it a shot. So I’m retired. I’ll still own everything, Tony is going to kind of lease it out. I’ll give him some money, he will give us some money. He will run it. He’s done this before.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do in retirement. My wife will have stuff for me to do. I’ll still come around and have a couple of beers with the old guys.” Especially when his wife has stuff for him to do.
Mary had been in failing health. She had both hips replaced and both knees replaced and it was difficult for her to get to work. Frank was doing double duty between the kitchen and the bar. Mary green-lighted the transition. Fred and Frank visited Mary in the hospital and told her about the opportunity with Mata.
Frank’s daughter Elizabeth Stark was having chicken schnitzel, corn, and mashed potatoes at the bar when I dropped in a couple of weeks ago. She said, “Mary thought this was a good idea. She loved Tony and (his wife) Callie (Roach). I think she was like a second daughter to Mary.” Callie is Director of Operations at Kaiser Tiger and the company’s new Max & Issy’s, 1028 W. Diversey Pkwy.
Elizabeth is a 34-year-old short story writer who teaches English and composition at Elmhurst University and Triton College in River Grove. She has a writer’s eye for detail.
Elizabeth nodded at a space behind the 20-seat bar and said, “There was a tiny picnic table behind the bar. I used to sit there when I was little instead of going to daycare or summer school. My aunt would fix me meatloaf. When I was older there used to be a pool table in the back. I’d bring down my friends and we’d play with our Barbie dolls on the pool table. It feels like a second home. I wish I could take it over but unfortunately, I don’t have the means to do it. I know Tony has the best interest of the family in mind. I would hate to see someone buy this place, tear it down, and build a condo. It’s happening everywhere. Tony wanted to preserve this as long as possible. Eventually, I’ll write something about the bar. My aunt always wanted me to do a story.”
Elizabeth Stark and her father Frank.
As an adult, Elizabeth tended bar at Frank and Mary’s and stepped in on a daily basis a couple of summers ago when her father had open-heart surgery. Frank listened to all that was around him as his daughter sat near her white notebook. The notebook was part journal-lesson planner-fantasy football manual. A gentleman named Jose sat along the bar next to the notebook.
“Jose and I are taking notes for the upcoming NFL season,” she explained. “We do a league here and my Dad doesn’t want to run it anymore, so I’m doing it with one of my friends.”
Frank’s career in the Chicago bar business dates back to 1970 when he was a bartender at the Black Pearl (a Chinese restaurant with a Hawaiian theme ) at Diversey and Broadway.) Mary was a part-time bartender at the German Club on Sunnyside and Lincoln Avenue. Their mother suggested that Frank and Mary open their own bar.
Frank’s wife Nancy is a retired purchasing agent. She met Frank during lunch at the neighborhood tavern. Frank believed the homemade meatloaf did the trick. They were married in 1987. The couple lived in an apartment above the bar when Elizabeth was an infant.
The history of the bar Frank and Mary’s dates back to the 1930s. The tavern was open during Prohibition when the front was boarded up and customers snuck in through a back door. Folks have always been on a first-name basis at Frank and Mary’s. In the early 1940s, the tavern was called Jeanette’s. In 1951 it was Earl’s. It was Sam’s saloon in the 1970s.
Frank & Mary’s Tavern when it was Jeanette’s Tavern. Nice dress code!
Don’t expect it to be called Tony’s.
“Being in the bar business for so long, I can’t go to a bar without thinking what I would do if I owned a bar,” said Mata, a native of west suburban Aurora. “This is my kind of bar. And there aren’t many left like this. Not that there’s anything wrong here. I’m going to put paint on the walls. I want to light the front of the building so it looks open. I see people walk by all the time they peek in. I want them to take that extra step, open the door and come in. I run all these ideas past Frank, Liz, Nancy, and Mary’s son.”
Mata has also launched a real estate business so he’s busy. He plans to manage the bar but not work behind the bar. “With Mary passing away and Frank retiring, the kitchen aprons are going on the wall,” he said. “I can’t promise you’re going to get Frank’s food as you did for so long. I hope people understand if it is a little different.”
Mary never wrote down her recipes. She filed them in her head. Frank smiled through the toothpick in his mouth and said, “Every time I ran into trouble I would call her. The only thing I wrote down was the Hungarian goulash. I have a few other things down.”
Mata added, “When I was doing the Silver Palm I was teasing Mary, ‘Can I get your meatloaf recipe?’ Because I would come in every Wednesday and eat it.” Mary agreed. Mata once grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down what she told him. He ran a “Mary’s Meatloaf” special a couple of times at the Silver Palm. That is not to be confused with the rocker Meat Loaf. Mata’s resume includes creating backstage rock n’ roll meals with Big Delicious Planet Catering, serving folks like the Who and Jimmy Page.
“COVID took a hit on bars and restaurants, Frank and Mary’s included,” he said. “I might trim the menu down and keep the important ones, the meatloaf, the corned beef, the fish fry on Fridays. We will still have food available every day, but it might not be Mary’s home-cooked style food. There’s only lunch now so the food at night will be a focus for me. I have to keep it affordable because we’re still in the pandemic.”
Frank and Mary’s neighborhood is on the upswing. The tavern is open from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. A regular crowd shows up to watch Chicago Bears games. Lunch remains a staple for new neighborhood folks and the city’s Streets & Sanitation workers. Over the past ten years, Metropolitan Brewing, Maplewood Brewery & Distillery, and Ravinia Brewing are all nearby. Honey Butter Fried Chicken is four blocks away at 3361 N. Elston Ave.
Frank reflected, “When I first got to this neighborhood it was decent. Then it got a little rougher. It’s the best now, with Logan Square turning around.”
Businesses come and go in these precarious times. The community and family of Frank and Mary’s are making sure the classic Chicago tavern will be around for years to come.
They are right on time.
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