New Lake Zurich steakhouse uses family-raised beef

When Dan Beelow had a tough time finding a high-quality steak, he decided it was time to open his own steakhouse.

“I couldn't find a great steak anywhere,” Beelow said. He recently launched Beelow's Steakhouse at the former Bennigan's location at 763 S. Rand Road in Lake Zurich.

Beelow surrounded himself with experienced employees to help him run the new establishment. The chef and general manager worked at well-known Don Roth's in Wheeling before it closed last year.

Beelow says he knows he's getting quality meat, with much of the beef for burgers and nightly specials coming from cattle raised by his brother on their family farm near Mundelein. Since the early 1920s, the Beelow family farm has been part of the Lake County landscape, raising cattle, hogs and grain crops.

Dan Beelow's grandfather, Frank, settled in Lake County in 1910. The family has worked the farm over the years and Dan's brother, Duane, now farms 600 acres of grain and raises about 60 cattle and 200 hogs a year.

The restaurant features the “taste brought from the farm,” he said.

The Ivanhoe meat raffle, a beef appetizer, has been a favorite at the new restaurant, which opened in November. Other highlights include prime rib that sells for $19.95 and a 28-ounce porterhouse steak that costs $38. Fish and chicken dishes are also featured on the menu.

The restaurant owner describes the establishment as a “family-style steakhouse.” The eatery, which serves dinner only at this point, has a children's menu with items ranging from $7.95 to $14.95.

Beelow said all the beef is dry aged for 30 days. “And we trim and cut all the meats in house. We use top Angus beef.”

Beelow, a graduate of Carmel High School in Mundelein, said his wife, Hope, assists at the new business as a bartender. Their children, ages 5 and 13, also help out.

Dan Beelow, 47, continues to run his landscape and excavation businesses while launching the new restaurant.

Family pictures from the Beelow farm decorate the new eatery, which seats 240 people. The owner added that he's proud of the bar that has water running through it. “I built it. I have one just like it in my basement.”

“It's fine dining with a casual atmosphere,” the entrepreneur said.