The Last Highball At Petey's Bungalow Lounge

OAK LAWN, IL — I went over to Petey’s Bungalow Lounge Sunday afternoon to toast the last of the great South Side supper clubs, which closes this week after a 63-year run on 95th Street. It seemed that everyone else in Oak Lawn had the same idea because every space in Petey’s parking lot was taken

Since the supper club’s owner and head chef — Petey Kattos, 92 — announced his retirement a few weeks ago, the dining room has been fully booked through the restaurant’s last day of its storied run, which is Tuesday, Oct. 15.

On Sunday afternoon, I managed to squeeze into the packed bar, where everyone seemed to know each other’s name and gathered one last time to socialize at the bungalow. I snagged a table and ordered my highball because somehow the occasion seemed to call for an old-school cocktail.

A server, who I had met outside a few minutes earlier, warned me not to go into the kitchen where Kattos was cooking.

“He’s overwhelmed by everyone dropping in to say goodbye. He can’t keep up,” she told me. “He keeps ordering everyone out of the kitchen and saying he’s old.”

Later, she brought me a cup of chicken noodle soup and Petey’s famous garlic bread in the bar.

The Greek-born Kattos was 25 when he purchased the classic 1920s bungalow home across the street from Advocate Christ Medical Center that had recently been converted into a lounge. After years of cooking at a Western Avenue eatery, he decided to put his skills to the test at his own venture.

“I originally started cooking Italian food, even though I knew nothing about it,” Kattos told Patch in a 2011 interview. “But I just followed everyone else’s lead, and I caught on quickly.”

At first, it was slow-going, but Kattos along with his wife, Mary, dedicated themselves to providing their patrons with a hearty and traditional dining experience.

“One day after we had opened, I saw a returning customer pull up near the restaurant,” Kattos said in 2011. “I raced from the kitchen and greeted him by name as he left his car. He was flattered that I had not only remembered his name, but also how he liked his steak cooked.”

Over the decades, Petey’s became an Oak Lawn destination where area residents went to celebrate a 20th wedding anniversary, make a business deal, meet up with cronies or merely stop by after work to drink something brown.

Occasionally, Petey’s would make it into Sneed or one of the other big news columns, where the occasional celebrity was spotted dining, and newly paroled public officials came to commiserate.

No dinner at Petey’s was served without the prerequisite relish tray of scallions, carrot and celery sticks, olives and red pickled beets. The prime filet sandwich served on toasted garlic bread is still a meal memory that I cherish.

Last year, Kattos’ beloved Mary died and a piece of him went missing. So on Oct. 4, Kattos announced he was retiring and that the bungalow was closing, according to the official statement on the restaurant’s website:

“With Mary’s passing last year, Petey continues to deeply miss his wife Mary by his side. Both worked side by side daily achieving their aspirations and together they weathered the storms and celebrated many triumphs and significant milestones … Mary and I lived the American dream. Our journey began 63 years ago and we followed our passion of restaurant entrepreneurship by opening and running our own businesses — the Bungalow and Petey’s II. As time passes, you finally realize when it’s time to end a chapter."

As of Oct. 12, the family announced that an increasing number of Petey’s menus and other personal property has gone missing since the announcement of the restaurant’s closing. They’d like the items returned.

I finished my highball and soup and walked sadly into the dining room for one last look around. Hanging near the entrance of the kitchen, I had a clear view of Kattos cooking. I snapped a few photos of the master at work.

“I wouldn’t go in there,” said a busser hustling into the dining room.

The legacy of Petey’s Bungalow Lounge lives in all of us.