A post on X.com featuring a former Peoria tavern has drawn nearly a half-million views from across the twitterverse.
The poster wrote, "follower sent me one of the best lost bar signs I’ve seen (closed in 2014)."
The sign was for the storied Katie McButts tavern. It depicts a generously proportioned naked cartoon female looking over her shoulder and hoisting a mug of beer. The sign once — not unfittingly — graced the rear entry to the now-demolished East Bluff watering hole.
Several commenters likened the depiction to a rejected character from the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" animated film.
Others — presumably from Peoria — shared rather rowdy but fond memories of the tavern.
What was Katie McButts?
The tavern was a longtime fixture at 2440 N. Knoxville Ave. in Peoria.
Originally a bakery, the building, constructed in 1925, was later home to the Peoria Turf Club. It was reborn as an Irish pub under new ownership in 1984. The moniker stemmed from a Quad Cities bar called McButts, with "Katie" added because the blended name "rolled off the tongue,” new owner Larry McEnroe once told the Journal Star.
Katie McButts boasted 19 taps — 18 beers and one root beer. Some patrons took up the challenge to “ride the rail,” downing a mug of each of the beers and finishing with the lone draft root beer. McButts was later also known for its 50 cent Coney dogs, the sauce a family recipe.
Boisterous but beloved in Peoria
Over the years, the Journal Star dedicated much newsprint to Katie McButts, not all of it savory.
A 1987 article referenced the arrest of several members of the Katie McButts Club, a group of "decorated drinkers" who had previously successfully ridden the rail and been awarded green caps. In 1988, the tavern was fined for serving alcohol to a minor. In 1989, a man was stabbed after a fight began in the bar. In 2009, two armed men robbed the tavern and its patrons.
Nevertheless, Katie McButts was beloved. One family held a wake at the bar for a former patron. The tavern sponsored local sports teams and supported community fundraisers.
More: Luciano: Closing of Katie McButts a sign of the times for neighborhood taverns
End of an era in Peoria
Over time, business declined at the tavern.
"McButts’ high times continued through the 1990s. Then the economy crashed," wrote the Journal Star, also citing rising crime nearby and a perception that the area wasn’t safe.
McEnroe, the owner, eventually decided to close the East Bluff institution. In August 2014, a Journal Star column lamented the closing of the "venerable Irish pub." It was, "a sign of the times for neighborhood taverns," the story read.
In 2018, the Katie McButts building was razed .
More: Narrow saloon Katie McButts demolished
Gone but not forgotten in Peoria
Yet the Katie McButts legacy lives on, online.
Recollections and photos of the former tavern can be found on the Memories of Peoria and Retro Peoria Facebook pages.
Several commenters recalled the tavern's intentionally confusing restroom signs. One wrote: "Isn't that the place with the sign to the Men's bathroom was on the door to the Women's bathroom with an arrow pointing and then the reverse on the door to the Men's?"
Others wrote, "Made for lots of mixed up drunks!... LOL" and, "Was funny watching them walk into the wrong one. A rite of passage at the bar!"
And no doubt a challenge, especially after riding the rail.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Unique sign from former Peoria tavern lives on via social media
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