Emmett’s Tavern & Brewing Company
Family is important to Emmett’s. Like our food and beer, our name is authentic too. Emmett, the namesake of the restaurant, is the patriarch of three generations of the Burns family.
Emmett W. Burns was born in Wheeling, West Virginia on October 8th, 1901. Shortly thereafter his family moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. As a young boy Emmett lost his mother to an influenza epidemic that swept across the country. The loss of his mother reinforced the importance of family and the bonds between his brothers and sisters.
After the death of his mother, Emmett's father was transferred to Buffalo, New York. It was in Buffalo that Emmett grew into manhood and met the love of his life Ruth George.
Starting a family during the Great Depression taught Emmett the value of hard honest work and self reliance. Emmett and Ruth spent the next several decades raising their family and growing a small business. Emmett was a devoted family man and natural storyteller, a skill he learned from listening to his grandfather spin tales of Ireland.
In the tradition of Emmett Burns, our restaurant stands for the same values and integrity that made Emmett a man of character.
Emmett's favorite snack, by the way, was sharp white cheddar and crackers with a crisp pilsner beer.
When it was completed in 1871, the Hunt’s Block building was a relative skyscraper among the wooden structures of West Dundee.
As the decades passed, Hunt’s Block grew into a location worthy of its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It was home to a number of flourishing businesses, including Dundee's first bank, a dry goods store, doctors’ and lawyers’ offices, a billiard hall, a ballroom...but never a fine-dining establishment.
That all changed in 1998 when Andrew and Matthew Burns and their father, Timothy, purchased Hunt's Block. They completely renovated the classic building and crafted it into a restaurant named after a man of honor and dignity, Timothy’s father, Emmett Burns.
Today, Hunt’s Block is home to Dundee’s first small brewery, where award-winning handcrafted beer and outstanding food is created and enjoyed every day.
In the years since we opened we have also opened and operated two more restaurants in the historic downtowns of Downers Grove and Palatine.
In 2004, Emmett’s won the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Landmarks Illinois Preservation Award for Adaptive Use for the work done on restoring Hunt’s Block.
