Until recently, Harley Budd’s big black 1979 Cadillac sat in front of his restaurant at Willow and Howe streets as if waiting for him to return and drive it maniacally through the side streets, never giving way, deliberately intimidating small foreign cars. Now only the Tap Root Pub sign remains.
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The city was determined to tear down Budd’s restaurant, which he had bought in 1962 and which he claimed had been a gathering place for the neighborhood since 1862. The city had other plans for the block in the mostly black and Latino neighborhood where Budd had lived his entire life, and the restaurant was the last building standing on it.
In 1972 Budd was dragged from the bar by police–a big man in the clutch of officers, a big picture in the papers. Shortly after, the city demolished the building. Budd moved his ambition one block west on Willow in the mid-1970s.
It was a friendly place, and the few locals left from the old neighborhood mixed with the construction workers who were creating its new look. It was also a favorite with the police.
The exterior of the building bulges where age has come down hard on the foundation. The paint has cracked from the stress of Chicago weather. Whoever takes it over is likely to have a difficult time renovating, and so will probably tear it down without much ado.
