The Village Squire McHenry

The Village Squire Restaurants have been a part of the Fox Valley since 1974, family owned & operated. Originally built in 1958, the Squire is an English pub-style casual dining restaurant, featuring nightly live music and a cozy, unique atmosphere.

When Paul Karas and his brother George bought The Village Squire in 1974, it had already gone through some major changes. It was originally named “The Swiss Chalet” in the 1950’s, with white tablecloths, turquoise upholstered chairs, and light brown woodwork all the way up to the vaulted ceiling. After a major fire destroyed much of the building in the mid 1960’s (? – we think!), it was remodeled and renamed The Village Squire. Mostly a dark tavern lit by candles and littered with peanut shells on the floor, Paul and George promptly closed it down for a few weeks after they purchased the restaurant in 1974. They changed the menu from eight items to twelve items, switched from peanuts to popcorn, and did a little bit of remodeling before reopening in early 1975. Some of our original menu items included the Gyros sandwich, Reuben, beef sandwich, grilled cheese sandwich, souvlaki, steak sandwich, fish sandwich, fish and chips, hamburger, and hot dog. You probably recognize many of these items since many of them are still on our menu today!

In 1979, Paul & George opened another Squire in Crystal Lake, and in 1981 another one in McHenry. In 1987, the brothers tried another kind of restaurant; it was Alexander’s Restaurant in Elgin, which also serves breakfast. On a roll, they decided to expand the 120-seat Dundee Squire, so they bought the liquor store that was attached to their building, and expanded the Squire by 80 seats by adding the “Party Room” in 1988. Today our menu at the Village Squires has over 130 items, and our restaurants all seat over 200 people.

Some of our specialties include our fantastic baby back ribs that fall off the bone, charbroiled steaks & juicy prime rib that melt in your mouth, & a wide variety of glorious burgers. Other foods from our kitchen include appetizers (try the flaming “saganaki” cheese), fresh salads, sandwiches (our gyros & Reuben sandwiches are out of this world!), Pizza, pastas, fresh fish, and fun foods “for our little friends”. The Squire is also famous for our house drinks, especially our Mai Tais & Rum Barrels. We have a large variety of foreign & domestic beers and wines, specialty coffee drinks, ice cream drinks & alcohol-free house drinks.

In 1993, one of Paul’s 3 children, Bob Karas, joined the family business, operating Alexander’s Restaurant in Elgin, and has lead the expansion of the group to include Rookies Sports Bar in St Charles (1996), and the The Village Squire of South Elgin, along with his 2 sisters, Despina Karas and sister & brother-in-law, Eleni and George Karavasis. The future of the Village Squire will remain as a family run business, as we await George Karas’s 5 children, Vasili, Aleko, Eleni, Toli and Fotini, to expand the Village Squire’s history.

We thank you for your patronage!