Squire Ale House offers something old, something new to diners in Campton Hills

After months and months of promising to be open “next month,” Squire Ale House finally welcomed its first guests to the Campton Hills restaurant a few weeks ago.

It’s a new concept for the suburban Karas Restaurant Group, which includes multiple locations each of the Village Squire, Rookie’s and Alexander’s Cafe, as well as Old Republic, Rookie’s Rochaus and Squire on the Square restaurants.

Owner Bob Karas and partner John Alimissis bought the building at 41W379 IL Route 64 about three years ago and neighborhood anticipation had been growing since they started working on it about a year and a half ago.

“Every day, the customers at our other restaurants would ask me ‘Is it open yet? When are you going to open?’” Karas said.

Those patient customers were there on day one.

“We had a line halfway across the parking lot on the day we opened,” he said.

Karas said that while the name may be familiar, he hopes to create a fresh experience for guests.

“The Ale House has a more dinner-centric menu than the other Squires. It’s kind of a tavern meets a steakhouse,” Karas said, referring to the Village Squire, which has locations in Crystal Lake, Dundee, McHenry and South Elgin. “But it will still have Squire touches.”

Karas said the menu, developed with executive chef Mike Sahin and corporate chef Grant Werner, is smaller than at the other Squire restaurants, featuring a mix of classic dishes like the Village Squire’s popular broasted chicken along with Ale House signature dishes that include schnitzel, pot roast, filet stroganoff and a giant smoked barbecue turkey leg that has fast become a favorite of both guests and Karas.

“I’ve always loved turkey legs, from the first time I had one at Taste of Chicago 30 years ago,” he said. “I always wanted to eat them somewhere that wasn’t a festival or a Medieval Times.”

The Squire turkey leg is smoked then basted in barbecue sauce and served on a bed of garlic smashed potatoes.

Karas said they’ll soon be firing up the restaurant’s rotisserie to re-create the chicken that was the specialty of The Lodge, the building’s previous tenant.

The menu also has a bigger focus on steaks than other Squire restaurants, with more than a half dozen different cuts and preparations plus slow-roasted prime rib that’s available on weekends.

The menu features a number of pasta and seafood dishes, including classics like shrimp de Jonghe, as well as more contemporary dishes like ahi tuna salad.

“We have some gastro-foodie stuff like our tuna wontons,” Karas said with almost a hint of disdain for the term. “But it’s not the kind of thing where people are going to leave still hungry.”

To be an ale house, one must serve ale. As part of their beer lineup, Karas said they’re collaborating with Black and Gray Brewing for three custom brews, including the Braveheart Freedom Brew (a light pilsner), the Spotted Lion (a farmhouse-style cream ale) and the Squire Red Ale.

They’ll also serve the popular house drinks from the other restaurants, including their takes on a mai tai, rum barrel, margarita and bloody Mary. There are also craft sodas from makers like Green River, Sprecher and Wild Bill.

In classic Squire fashion, guests start the night with free popcorn and they’ll soon be able to end it with free s’mores.

The roughly 6,000-square-foot restaurant features a large bar dining area in addition to another dining room and private seating area. The decor is a mix of The Village Squire look with coats of arms and old English style combined with Americana, including salutes to the military and veterans.

An expansive patio will open when the weather allows with live music.

“That’s going to be the place to be in the summer,” Karas said.

The restaurant, which has been empty since The Lodge closed, was previously Niko’s Lodge and Silverado Grill before that. It’s probably most infamously remembered by longtime locals as the Farm Inn.

Karas said the building was in rough shape when he bought it.

“It was dilapidated, but sometimes I get excited about a place and do a deal that maybe I shouldn’t,” he said. “It hasn’t done me wrong yet though.”

After the purchase, it took Karas another year and a half to decide what to do with it as he worked on other projects like the group’s new Woodstock restaurant Squire on the Square. Once he finally started to rehab the building, it took longer than he anticipated.

“Last year I probably said ‘I’m going to open next month’ every month of the year,” he said.

That turned into January, which became March, when Karas decided that ready or not it was time to open.

“So far, so good,” Karas said. “My team has handled the business really well. We’ve been getting great reviews and doing more volume than I expected.”