GRAFTON’S LEGENDARY FIN INN PREPARING TO RETURN AS “FIN INN AGAIN”

GRAFTON, Ill. — One of the most unusual restaurants ever to line the Great River Road is preparing for another chapter, as Grafton’s legendary Fin Inn is being revived under the almost-too-perfect name Fin Inn Again.

The restaurant at 1500 W. Main Street in Grafton is currently being described in hiring materials as a newly renovated restaurant, with ownership actively recruiting an executive chef, kitchen manager and line cooks. Current listings say the new concept will feature steak, seafood, Mediterranean-inspired dishes and smoked meats, while the chef will work directly with ownership to develop and refine the menu.

For generations of visitors, though, the Fin Inn was remembered as much for what was swimming beside the dinner tables as what was served on them. The original restaurant opened in 1981 and became famous for enormous built-in aquariums stocked with fish native to the Mississippi River. Earlier accounts described four roughly 2,000-gallon tanks containing gar, bass, catfish and other river species, along with large turtles. Many tables sat directly against the glass, making dinner at the Fin Inn part restaurant and part underwater attraction.

The family-owned restaurant operated for more than four decades before closing. When the property went to auction in late 2023, those involved in the sale expressed hope that someone would eventually restore the restaurant and preserve its identity rather than turn the highly visible Great River Road property into something entirely different.

Now that possibility is becoming considerably more concrete. Fin Inn Again is appearing in current business and hiring listings at the original address, while its hiring campaign indicates ownership is building a full restaurant operation rather than simply experimenting with the property. Line cooks are being recruited alongside senior kitchen leadership, suggesting preparations are moving beyond the earliest planning stage.

An exact opening date has not yet been publicly confirmed in sources RiverNewsLive could independently verify. But for people who remember eating dinner with catfish, gar and turtles swimming just beyond the glass beside their table, the new name leaves little ambiguity about what the owners are trying to resurrect.

The Fin Inn is getting ready to become the Fin Inn Again.

RiverNewsLive will continue following the project and update readers as additional details, including an opening date and final menu, are announced.