Distillery with sketchy past among businesses preceding Alexander's Steakhouse in Peoria

Alexander's Steakhouse, 100 Alexander Ave. in Peoria.
Alexander's Steakhouse, 100 Alexander Ave. in Peoria.

Question: What was the original business in the building that houses the Alexander Street Steakhouse? I've wondered about that for a long time. — Bill.

Answer: First, though you didn't ask, let's talk about the name of the place. A lot of people refer to it as you do: Alexander Street Steakhouse. To be clear, it's Alexander's Steakhouse. And, despite at least one errant reference on the company's website and two signs that say "street" instead of "avenue" at the intersection with Northeast Adams Street, county land records confirm there's no Alexander Street in Peoria. The eatery is on Alexander Avenue — to be precise, 100 Alexander Ave.

Sorry if that sounds picky, Bill. But you wouldn't want us to call you Gil or Lil or something almost correct, right?

As to the history of the place, the city assessor's office says the building was erected in 1910. Just inside the eatery, a framed "historic profile" says it started as the United Paper Board Co., churning straw into corrugated paper. About 1933, the enterprise was bought by the Terre Haute Paper Co., which closed the operation after several years.

About 1945, the Scottish American Distillery started making Scotch, only to get shut down after two years, ensnarled by a strange and stealthy web involving Joseph Kennedy, Harry Truman and the federal government. It's a complex tale; if you want more, you can check it out at the eatery. But under the murky machinations, for a decade the feds stored the booze, which was then exported before returning to America and netting Kennedy a handsome profit.

For more than 20 years, the structure remained mostly vacant, eventually serving as a storehouse for the nearby Peoria Malleable Casting Co. That company was bought by Mead Corp., which in the 1970s shut down Peoria Malleable and sold 100 Alexander Ave. to Bill Griffin of Pekin. He developed a marina at the foot of the roadway and rehabbed the building into a full-service restaurant.

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In 1979, he leased the space to an Italian joint that quickly went under. But in 1981, a new lease brought in Alexander's Steakhouse, part of Mercedes Restaurants Inc.

Griffin, still the owner of the property, says with a chuckle, "They've done pretty well."

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Alexander's Steakhouse building in Peoria boasts distillery history