HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
Clarendon Hills Roadhouse With a Lingering 1950s Tragedy
241 W 55th St, Clarendon Hills, IL 60514
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Casual American restaurant; burger and bar menu pricing. Call (630) 325-1444 for current hours.
Access
Limited Access
Flat, parking lot access
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1922 · Local History · DuPage County
In 1922, the original owner of the property at what is now 241 West 55th Street in Clarendon Hills decided to build a roadhouse on the edge of town — a tavern and small store on the ground floor, family quarters upstairs. The building sat at a bend in 55th Street where the road approached a tree-lined stretch, and it became a gathering point for the surrounding community through Prohibition and its aftermath.
Ownership changed several times over the following decades. By the 1970s the building had accumulated its share of ordinary history: local arguments, ordinary tragedies, the slow accumulation of lives lived in a neighborhood bar. In 1974, David Regnery and three partners acquired the property and undertook a renovation that transformed it into the Country House as it is now known — a casual American restaurant with a strong local following and a reputation for reliable burgers.
The restaurant's paranormal reputation emerged almost immediately after the 1974 renovation. Owner David Regnery and a contractor witnessed six shutters opening simultaneously in the bar — an event that launched the ghost legend and has since attracted media coverage across newspapers, podcasts, and television segments.
Sources
The story attached to the Country House comes from the previous owner's account, shared after the 1974 renovation revealed unexplained activity. A young woman in her late twenties — blonde, according to the mediums brought in by Chicago ghosthunter Richard Crowe — had been involved with a bartender at the roadhouse in the late 1950s. She came to the bar one night asking if she could leave her child there for a short time while she attended to some errand. The bartender refused. She took the child and drove away fast down 55th Street, and approximately half a mile from the building she drove into a tree. The death was treated as a suicide.
The activity that followed the 1974 renovation was persistent enough that Regnery eventually contacted Richard Crowe, one of Chicago's most documented paranormal investigators. Crowe brought mediums who independently described the same young woman — late twenties, blonde, abdominal injuries consistent with a car crash.
Staff reports from across the restaurant's operating history include pounding on walls from empty rooms, the sound of an infant crying with no source, pots and pans shifting in the kitchen, and a strong floral scent that appears and disappears without explanation. The woman has been seen on multiple occasions in the second-floor window, described as beckoning to people in the parking lot below. Several accounts place her walking through the dining room during off-hours. A jukebox has reportedly turned on by itself. Footsteps have been heard in empty rooms on the second floor where the original family quarters were.
Notable Entities
Country House has operated as a neighborhood burger and bar since 1974 in a building dating to 1922. The second-floor window where the apparition has been reported beckoning to passersby is visible from the parking lot. No organized ghost programming is offered; the haunted reputation is informal and woven into the regular dining experience.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
12 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mount Prospect, IL
Mrs. P & Me has operated at 100 E Prospect Avenue in Mount Prospect, Illinois since 1902, making it over 120 years old. The restaurant describes itself as a neighborhood gathering place blending rich history with American comfort food. It came under new ownership in 2004. The building's more-than-century lifespan as a hospitality venue underpins the paranormal associations attached to the property.
Auburn, AL
The depot site in downtown Auburn has been used since 1847, when the first train station was built to serve the Montgomery & West Point Railroad. The original depot was destroyed by Union cavalry under General Rousseau in 1864; a second depot burned after a lightning strike. The current building, erected in 1904, sold its last train ticket in 1970 and sat largely vacant until a thorough restoration transformed it into a fine-dining restaurant that opened in 2015.
Casa Grande, AZ
Cafe de Manuel's operates as an authentic Mexican restaurant in Casa Grande, Arizona, established in 1995. The building formerly functioned as a furniture store and private residential property prior to restaurant use. The structure harbors historical trauma from its commercial and residential operations.