HISTORY HIGHLIGHT

THE TALE OF RAY RADIGAN'S

In 1933, at the age of 26, Raymond “Ray” J. Radigan secured a lease for a home turned soft drink parlor just north of the Illinois border on Sheridan Road, where he opened what would come to be known as "Ray Radigan's." Although this was Ray’s first time opening a business, he was an old hand in the hospitality industry, having worked as a busboy and waiter in Waukegan before managing both the Lagoon tavern, and the Golden Gate roadhouse in Pleasant Prairie. 

A matchbook from Ray Radigan's. Date unknown

Despite minor run-ins with the law for possession of gambling machines and violation of closing time mandates, the supper club performed well. In late 1936 Ray and his wife Wilma, who he had married in 1934, purchased a tavern further north on Sheridan Road, where they moved the business in May 1937. The Radigans ran the business together, incorporating as Ray Radigan, Inc. in 1954, coinciding with the remodeling of the supper club.

Ray Radigan's in 1957.

In 1971 the Radigans’ son, Michael Radigan, returned to Pleasant Prairie to work with his parents after graduating from Michigan State University with a masters in hotel and restaurant management. Michael became the manager in 1973 and continued his father’s success. 

The bar at Ray Radigan's.

Following a series of hospitalizations in 2012, Michael formed a partnership with his daughter, Mary Radigan, who had graduated from the Culinary Institute of America 9 years before. The pair ran the business together until May 27, 2015, when the supper club unexpectedly closed its doors. Interviews with Michael Radigan at the time floated the possibility that the business would reopen. However, much to the community’s dismay, the building was sold in 2016, permanently closing the supper club after 82 years of operation.