Tony’s Ranch House Restaurant and Lounge

Tony’s Ranch House Restaurant and Lounge as it appeared in 2024. Photo courtesy of A. J. Vambaketes.

Tony’s Ranch House Restaurant and Lounge is located at 3330 Godfrey Road in Godfrey, Illinois, occupying its original location on US Highway 67 since 1960. It is owned and operated by the Vambaketes family of Alton and Godfrey, who have been involved with its ownership through several name changes and additions to the building, which hearkens back to the 1940s when it was known as Phil’s Ranch House, a car hop style establishment.[1]  The restaurant and bar is located on a highly visible stretch along the village’s main thoroughfare and has served generations of residents in northwestern Madison and southern Jersey counties. It is a stable business that has adapted with the times to remain relevant yet retains much of its original character and charm to serve as a place of comfort and nostalgia which creates loyalty amongst its patrons. The Vambaketes family works to maintain its position of trust and value within Illinois’s Riverbend community, where the business is considered a landmark.[2]

The Vambaketes’s Illinois family roots began with George Vambaketes’s (1876-1953) immigration to the Alton-Godfrey region in the first decade of the twentieth century. He and his eldest son emigrated from Greece and paved the way for the family to join them. After he became settled, George sent for his wife Stella Vambaketes (née Maggos, 1881-1954) twelve years later.[3] He made a livelihood owning several taverns, including Big George’s, within Alton’s industrial district on Broadway. His son John (1917-1999), born in Alton, followed his father’s footsteps and owned or operated several taverns throughout the 1940s and 1950s, namely The Sand Bar and Johnnies on Broadway.[4]

A newspaper clipping from the Alton Telegraph in 1985. Clipping courtesy of A. J. Vambaketes.

John Vambaketes married Mary Lafakis (1930-2009) on September 28, 1947. She was born in Andros, Greece, in 1930, and immigrated to the Alton region where her father John Lafakis (1898-1978) had already established the household before sending for her and other family members. Stories like John and Mary’s played out repeatedly in the St. Louis region and Madison County particularly as the nascent Greek-American community solidified its footing.[5] The Greek-American community forged a tight-knit community in Alton, anchored by the Greek Orthodox Church and the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, AHEPA, a fraternal society which functioned as a source of cultural grounding while the community wrestled with issues concerning assimilation, especially Ku Klux Klan violence. The AHEPA chapter in Alton had its own special gathering space dedicated to uplift and connections with Hellenic principles shared between Greek communities across the United States, Canada, and Europe.

An AHEPA gathering in the late 1940s. Mary Vambaketes (Lafakis), is the ninth person from the front, left of the table, leaning forward. Photograph courtesy of A.J. Vambaketes.

In 1960, John Vambaketes partnered with George Carroll (1915-2001) to purchase Phil’s Ranch House. They named it Carroll’s and served classic American fare along with an active bar scene to maintain a loyal customer base. In 1984, John’s son Anthony Vambaketes (1951-2019), while serving as a veteran alderman of Alton beginning in 1973, bought out Carroll’s ownership, thereby consolidating the restaurant under complete family ownership. It was renamed Tony’s Ranch House Restaurant and Lounge, and the family invested in it with updates to its physical plant alongside fresh ideas to increase its consumer base. The Ranch House navigated the inflationary era of the 1970s and 1980s by remaining relevant through its embrace of the Alton-Godfrey community, and that embrace was reciprocated, as exemplified by the Hands Across America event hosted there in 1986. Additionally, the establishment has a core of dedicated employees, with several having over thirty and forty years of service.[6]

Anthony (Tony) Vambaketes is in the center with nephew Peter, hosting a Hands Across America event in 1986. Hands Across America was a domestic effort to raise money for relief from poverty and homelessness. Poster courtesy of A.J. Vambaketes.

The third and current generation of Tony’s Ranch House family ownership features Tony’s wife Peggy Vambaketes and their three children, A.J., Mary, and John. Anthony and Peggy were married in East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1977. Since Tony’s passing in 2019, the restaurant has continued its significance in the Alton-Godfrey area by adjusting its menu and maintaining its reputation as a regional social gathering spot. Themed nights hold as well as attract new customers, and they highlight their Greek-American heritage monthly via Greek Night, a business success, where Grandmother Mary’s authentic Greek recipes are showcased to overflow crowds, cementing access to yet another generation of loyal customers.[7]

As part of a civic relationship, the Ranch House continues its legacy of community spirit and participation. Since the family views the business as a community treasure and public trust, they joined the Riverbend Growth Association (RBGA) in 2022.  John Vambaketes believes the RGBA allows the business to remain involved in the community while showing its appreciation for customer support, and to the local government structure which regularly patronizes the establishment.[8]

Tony’s Ranch House Restaurant and Lounge draws upon its six decades of experience to navigate economic ups and downs. Its longevity can be credited to its generosity within and embrace of the Alton-Godfrey community. It continues to be a reliable gathering place for workers, students, passersby, family and friends, and special events, such as retirement parties, celebrations of life events, and enjoyment of sports broadcasts, like World Cup watch parties in December 2022. The Ranch House operates as a place of shared experiences, and its ability to create generational memories proves to be a working formula that keeps customers coming back.[9] The family anticipates that a fourth generation of Vambaketes ownership will continue its legacy of entrepreneurship and civic engagement at Tony’s Ranch House Restaurant and Lounge in Godfrey, Illinois.

Tony’s Ranch House sign along US 67 in Godfrey, Illinois. Photo courtesy of A. J. Vambaketes.

Notes

1. A.J. Vambaketes Oral History interview conducted May 28, 2024; “Tony’s Ranch House A Godfrey Mainstay,” The Alton Telegraph, ca.1985.

2. “Featured Business of the Month: Tony’s Ranch House,” The Villager, February 2023, p. 4, accessed June 8, 2024.

3. A.J. Vambaketes Oral History follow up interview conducted June 10, 2024.

4. “Tony’s Ranch House A Godfrey Mainstay,” The Alton Telegraph, ca. 1985; https://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/Illinois/John-Vambaketes_4x00jc,  accessed June 9, 2024.

5. Obituary for Mary Vambaketes https://www.riverbender.com/obits/details/mary-vambaketes-alton-obituary-4289.cfm, accessed June 10, 2024; Senate Resolution recognizing Mary Vambaketes’ death https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09600SR0471lv&SessionID=3&GA=96&DocTypeID=SR&DocNum=0471&print=true, accessed June 10, 2024.

6. A.J. Vambaketes Oral History follow up interview, June 10, 2024; Collage poster of Hands Across America event, 1986.

7. Dan Brennan, riverbender.com, “Godfrey Stimulus Voucher Plan ‘Works Wonders’ At First Of Year For Long-Standing Business Tony’s Ranch House,” January 5, 2021, accessed June 10, 2024.

8. https://growthassociation.com/rbga-adds-five-more-to-its-membership/, “RGBA Adds Five More to Its Membership,” April 18, 2022, accessed June 11, 2024; A.J. Vambaketes Oral History follow up interview, June 10, 2024.

9. Peter Hayes, “Packed (Ranch) House: Fans gather to cheer US soccer team,” The Alton Telegraph, December 3, 2022, accessed June 8, 2024.