HEADLINE: ‘Glen View’ Rises Again: Historic Tavern Building Restores Long Lost Spelling

GLENVIEW, Ill. – For years, neighbors walking to Summerfest simply accepted the blank face of the old Glenview House. But this Saturday, residents got a jolt of historical whiplash.

The sign is back—and so is a ghost from the 19th century.

Pedestrians en route to the annual celebration stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed the iconic building at 1843 Glenview Road sporting its original name: “Glen View” —two words, not one.

“It gave me chills,” said one nearby resident who declined to give her name, pointing up at the freshly mounted letters. “That’s how my grandparents used to spell it.”

The surprise resurrection comes courtesy of the Foxtail Restaurant Group, the new owners of the 146-year-old landmark. After consulting with the Glenview History Center, the restaurateurs made the bold call to revert to the village’s original 1895 spelling—a nod to the building’s birth as the “Glen View House” nearly a half-century before the suburb formally incorporated.

“We wanted the building to tell its true story,” a Foxtail representative said. “This place voted itself into existence. It deserves its real name.”

That story is written in the walls. In 1899, the tavern hosted the critical vote that granted Glenview official village status. The charter was signed inside on June 20, 1899, and the first Village Board meeting followed weeks later.

But the building has endured hard chapters too—a 1928 fire sheared off the top floor, and the most recent gastropub closed in March 2023 after struggling to turn a profit.

Now, Foxtail is betting big on history and square footage.

The Village of Glenview approved a redevelopment package totaling $2.9 million in financial assistance, split between a $1.4 million grant for kitchen and dining upgrades and a $1.5 million construction loan at 5% interest over 10 years.

The physical transformation is just as dramatic. Workers have added a huge steel-beam double-decker back porch capable of seating over 150 people, plus an extended front patio. By eliminating the old back porch, adding an extra kitchen area, and carving out new rooms on the south and east sides, Foxtail has expanded the building’s footprint by more than 20%.

“The previous restaurant just didn’t have enough space to succeed,” said a representative with the National Restaurant Association. “You can’t run a viable operation in a 7,000-square-foot historic relic without more room to turn tables.”

With the expansion, the Glen View House will now seat more than twice as many guests as before. Foxtail plans to open its Mediterranean-concept restaurant in November 2026, pending final construction.

For longtime residents, seeing “Glen View” back on the facade feels like a small civic correction—a reminder that before the village was South Northfield, North Branch, or even Oak Glen (a name rejected because a railroad stop already claimed it), it was Glen View.

Two words. One very old tavern. And a sign that finally came home.