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Tradewinds Restaurant, 867 N. Rush St., Chicago Il.

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While reading a blog about a Chicago Nightlife Guide from 1959 I came across an ad for the "Internationally Famous" Tradewinds Restaurant & Lounge, a location I can't seem to find anything about here, on Critiki, or in the TRT/Tiki Bar Review pages. Is this a case of "Exotic, but not Tiki"?

That magazine also includes this ad for "Club Aloha", another place in Chicago I've never heard of. The only thing I can find in Google is a reference to it being a jazz club. Judging by the image below, I think it must've been a strip joint too.

Drove by this location yesterday. New high rise building going up on the site. No clues there...

tradewinds was mostly nautical in theme i believe, but also tiki, considering the time period it was built in and how popular tiki was at the time....it didn't stay open long which is why so little info exists on it....i think it may have been the first to close....before kon-tiki ports, don the beachcomber and all the rest eventually did....

Tradewinds reference in the paper yesterday:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2207420,obit-pump-room-legend-arturo-petterino-042710.article

Says it was owned by a Hy Gingiss. Was this the Hy of Hy's Steakhouse fame? I know there was a Chicago location as well as Waikiki.

TT

All I can add is this stick from the Tradewinds Chicago, I have no idea what year it is from but I do know it is very old as far as plastic swizzle sticks go.
If you can't make it out there is a lady with a fruit basket, under a palm with a monkey climbing up the trunk.

Bosko

HT

Sorry to dig up an old topic, but I just got that same swizzle in green for a quarter. I recognized the name, but that was the first time I saw the swizzle, until now.

Interesting mob history from when Art Adler owned the Tradewinds.
He borrowed money from sadistic loan shark “Mad Sam” DeStefano, couldn't pay it back, fortunately died of a heart attack while walking down the steps to Mad Sam's basement and was found 2 months later in a Chicago sewer frozen solid. This happened in late 1959, early 1960.
https://mchenrycounty1981.com/archives/2013/12/sadistic-loan-shark-chicago-outfits-history-mad-sam-destefano/

Another swizzle stick design from the Tradewinds.

Menu, not mine.

Movie still from? Same neon sign as depicted on the matchbook.

Matchbooks. Not mine.

Drink tokens. Not mine.

Pages: 1 7 replies