This is the most haunted restaurant in Illinois, according to Food Network

Food Network has compiled a list of the most haunted restaurants in each state.

Image by Photocreo/Depositphotos.com

(CHICAGO) Just in time for Halloween, Food Network brings us a list of the most haunted places to dine in each of the 50 states. Illinois' spookiest restaurant was found in Chicago.

Though Chicago is home to many old buildings and plenty of ghost stories, Food Network named the Chicago Chop House as the most haunted on their list.

Chicago Chop House is the most haunted restaurant in Illinois

The Chicago Chop House at 60 W. Ontario Street opened its doors in 1987. New ownership took over in 2017 and updated the menu, renovated the building, and added nightly music.

Though the restaurant has been around a while, the building it resides in has even more history. The River North steakhouse is situated inside a 125-year-old Victorian brownstone built in 1897.

Image by Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why is the restaurant thought to be haunted?

Food Network tells the story of the Minier family who lived in the building. Electrician Robert Minier's nine-year-old daughter Florence died in the brownstone, and her ghost is said to still haunt the building.

"Staff and diners alike have heard a child crying, witnessed wine glasses flying off the bar and shattering on the floor, and seen lights turn on and off on their own. Sightings have taken place all times of the day on all three levels of the restaurant." - Food Network

The best time and place to spot a ghost is said to be in the evening on the third floor.

Where did the ghost story come from?

The Chop House has an old Chicago ambiance, not to mention 1,400 historic photos lining its walls, to set the mood, making ghost stories seem believable.

However, as exciting as the tale sounds, there's very little information to be found regarding the Minier family and their daughter Florence, other than the Food Network article.

Lillian Stone from The Takeout was equally curious as I was about finding the origin of the tragic story of Florence. But she was unable to "find a single mention of a nine-year-old Florence Minier who died in 1906." And neither was I.

Of course, finding the true origin of a ghost story may not be the point. It might be more fun to step into an old-fashioned Chicago restaurant, have a nice cocktail and delicious steak, and let your imagination run wild.

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