If only these walls could talk. Built in 1850 by an immigrant named Increase Bosworth, the Catfish Club in East Dundee is a vestige of the 19th Century Fox River Valley.
Although the tavern still wears the Plain-Jane exterior it had when Bosworth operated his general store/restaurant/boarding house/stagecoach stop, owner Thom McNamee of Dundee Township has updated the interior to create an upscale, Cheers-like atmosphere.
In addition to beer and premium brands, the Catfish Club always has Starbucks coffee and popcorn on hand, plus a menu that includes chili ($1.50 a cup, $2 a bowl) and $3 sandwiches (turkey, beef or chicken salad) on a choice of breads, with chips. McNamee hires caterers when the club hosts office parties and meetings for groups of 5 to 50.
McNamee, who also owns the nearby Bandito Barney’s Beach Club and Bordello, gutted the two-story structure. The massive bar is made of cherry and bird’s-eye maple, and windows have views of the great blue herons and egrets that grace the Fox.
An eclectic collection of American and European antiques serves as conversation pieces.
NcNamee commissioned Wisconsin stained-glass artist Steve Rich to craft the transom windows that depict a historical review of 19th Century river life.
The etched-glass kingfisher logo on the door honors a bird that entertained the contractors who renovated the building in 1995 by diving for fish from a tree across the street. The name “catfish” comes from the muddy creatures familiar to those who fish the Fox.
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The Catfish Club
702 Water St., East Dundee
Hours: Noon-1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and noon-2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Phone: 847-426-1116.
