GALENA, Ill. — Dino Rigopoulos said operating one of Galena’s oldest restaurants isn’t just an occupation.

“It’s a lifestyle — it becomes a part of your life,” he said.

Dino, 47, and his brother Sam, 44, are the co-owners of Galena’s Log Cabin Steakhouse — a Main Street fixture that can claim its place as the city’s oldest continuously operating eating establishment.

The restaurant has been in the Rigopoulos family for nearly 50 years. Dino and Sam’s father, Foti “Frank” Rigopoulos, purchased the Log Cabin Tavern with his partner, Dino Maglaris, in June 1975.

The Rigopoulos brothers purchased the restaurant in the early 2000s, when their dad retired and after Maglaris died.

“We take a lot of pride in keeping (the restaurant) in the family,” Dino said. “You want to keep something that is great growing — not only for yourself, but for the community.”

Arriving in America

The Log Cabin’s history began about 90 years ago.

LeRoy “Beaner” Hirst opened the Log Cabin Tavern in the mid-1930s in the former home of First State and Savings Bank at Main and Perry streets.

Frank Rigopoulos arrived in America at age 17, emigrating from his home in Kalamata, Greece.

“After World War II, everybody in Europe was in disarray,” Dino said. “At that point, for a young man like my dad, there was no work — Greece was (practically) destroyed — so he had to decide how to take the next step of his life.”

Easing Frank’s entry into American society was the presence of an uncle in the Chicago area.

“His name was George Manos,” Dino said. “That was my grandmother’s brother. He was the trail blazer of the family. He came over and opened a restaurant in the Chicago suburbs.”

Dino’s dad worked in his uncle’s restaurant and saved money so that family members could follow him to America.

“Eventually he brought his two sisters over, but his older brother stayed in Greece,” Dino said.

Frank eventually moved to DeKalb, Ill., and opened his own restaurant, the Sea Breeze.

“It was a family restaurant and it was a breakfast-lunch-dinner spot that catered to the local community and to the college (Northern Illinois University),” Dino said. “It just kept growing and growing.”

It was in DeKalb that Frank met Maglaris, who had emigrated from the same part of Greece.

Coming to Galena

Dino said Maglaris and his dad eventually sought a new restaurant opportunity.

“They were looking at two (possible establishments) — one in Galena and one in Lake Geneva (Wis.),” Dino said. “The guy in Lake Geneva wouldn’t sell them the building — he would only lease it out — so that’s how they decided to come to Galena.”

Frank and Maglaris purchased the Log Cabin Tavern in 1975 from Tom and Lenore (Hirst) Kmucha. Lenore had purchased her father’s Log Cabin 18 years earlier.

The Log Cabin of 1975 served as a traditional Midwestern supper club, and it existed in a Galena that was different than today.

“There wasn’t the leisure tourism industry (in Galena) that there is now,” Dino said. “My dad told me it was more about old-school antique shops.”

The restaurant evolves

As Galena developed into a popular tourist destination, the Log Cabin evolved, too. The Greek owners steadily added elements of their native cuisine to the menu.

The restaurant’s current menu includes USDA prime beef — prime rib, filet mignon, bone-in ribeye and other cuts — seafood, the Greek cheese appetizer saganaki and Greek feta cheese with Kalamata olives.

“We buy USDA prime beef only and we hand-carve everything in house,” Dino said.

The Log Cabin’s beef supplier, Allen Brothers of Chicago, has been in the business since 1893.

“We import our own Greek spices and we import the feta cheese,” Dino said. “About eight to 10 years ago we started importing our own olive oil.”

Next generation steps up

Dino and Sam both worked at the restaurant as kids.

“We started busing tables when we were 14 years old,” Dino said. “We would clean dishes, clean glasses. My brother waited tables for a while.”

Both brothers attended Loras College but would come back to work in the restaurant.

“We were always involved because kids need to work,” Dino said. “You kind of grow into the business.”

Dino said his dad never pressured the boys to enter the restaurant business.

“He made it a point that if we had the desire, we could come here and work,” Dino said. “There were times when people offered to buy the place (when Dino and Sam were in college and younger), but (Frank) never did that because he wanted there to be an option (for the boys to enter the business).”

Dino spent a summer in Greece when he graduated from Loras.

“I really got into the hospitality and cuisine (of Greece) during that summer,” Dino said. “I spent a lot of time in restaurants and decided I would come back (to Galena) and work for my dad a little bit and see how I liked it.”

Dino discovered he loved the restaurant business.

“I love seeing customers enjoy something I’ve created,” he said. “At a place like this, where we’re cutting our own meat and cooking it and creating our own cocktails, watching customers enjoy it gives you a real feeling of accomplishment.”

Sam said he enjoys working in the business.

“You get to work with family and meet new people,” he said.

Retired but advising

Frank is retired, but at age 91 continues to visit his sons at the restaurant.

“He’s a hands-on consultant,” Dino said.

Sam said their father offers good advice.

“He knows more than we know. He has been in this business (60 years).”

Dino said their father’s guidance continues to serve as a model for running the restaurant.

“Relationships and your reputation are the ultimate currency,” Dino said. “That is something we thrive on. We don’t look our patrons as customers — we look at them as our friends.”