Mack's Golden Pheasant is the oldest continuously owned restaurant in DuPage County. Czech immigrants Frank and Mae Mack turned a one-room tavern into a full-service lounge and restaurant in 1948. The couple converted the small building on the corner of North Avenue and Route 83 into a Czech-Austrian-inspired chalet. Complete with deep, low-hanging eaves and Germanic woodwork, it became an architectural connection to their youth. The name Golden Pheasant was inspired by Frank Mack's love of exotic birds. The dining room is home to an original menagerie of stuffed fowl created by famed Field Museum taxidermist Julius Fressier. A fire in 1962 destroyed much of their creation, sparing only the north balcony. Frank and his son Donald rebuilt Mack's into its proud, present form. Mack's has had another brush with flames and also weathered the massive Elmhurst flood of 1987. Yet the building stands as sturdy as the 200-year-old oak tree in the beautiful back garden. This garden bears the fingerprints and careful planning of Mae Mack. The Golden Pheasant's historical legacy is carried on today by Frank and Mae's grandson, Steve. This Elmhurst institution is preserved along with his talented wife Debra and their children Luke and Jessica.
