Fast Eddie's Bon-Air, Alton

The Legend begins with beer—Busch beer to be exact. But this was just the beginning…

In 1921 Anheuser Busch decided to open a drinking establishment in the picturesque river town of Alton, Illinois. A yellow brick building known as Bon-Air, was constructed right on the corner of three streets, 4th, Pearl and Broadway. Approximately ten years later, Busch had to sell the tavern due to a change in the statutes, which prohibited breweries from owning drinking establishments.

Sam Balaco, and later his son Lotteo, owned and operated the Bon-Air for 50 years. Then in 1981, in a move that would change history forever, Eddie Sholar (alias Fast Eddie) purchased Bon-Air. Things began to change – FAST!

In the more than twenty years that Fast Eddie has owned Bon-Air, it has quadrupled in size going from 80 chairs (and a few beer cases) to over 400 chairs. And on the weekends, standing room becomes a premium commodity!

Each weekend features the best in live entertainment: Sable, Fantasy, Planet Boogie and Ultraviolets, just to name a few. Until you’ve played Bon-Air, you haven’t played anywhere.

Fast Eddie’s Bon-Air is like no other. Over 4,000 half barrels of beer and thousands of cases of cans, bottles and liquor quench the thirst of our patrons every year. Some even say that Bon-Air is the #1 volume bar in the world!



A food bar, added due to popular demand, serves an assortment of grilled burgers, shish-kabobs, bratwurst and boiled shrimp all sold at the same low prices as when they were added nineteen years ago.

So…we now have an establishment that has become the hot spot of the Midwest!

** MUST BE 21 **

To visit Fast Eddie's Bon-Air on your trip to Alton, use our Alton trip maker tool.
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