About Us

History of the

Flagstaff House

The Flagstaff House was originally built as a summer cabin in 1929 by Chicago schoolteacher Hattie Bilchert. In 1937 park ranger Joe van Gorder bought the cabin as a place to host special events. Later in 1954 the Buelkes family purchased the property, coined it “The Flagstaff House,” and re-established it as an elegant summer restaurant. When the Flagstaff House next became available for purchase Don Monette jumped at the opportunity. He had always wanted to own just one restaurant that was truly “fine dining” and to be able to concentrate on making it an incredible experience for our guests.

Don bought the Flagstaff House and the surrounding five acres on November 1st, 1971. The Monette family greatly expanded the property, weatherized it to be open year-round and built several outdoor terraces which allow diners to enjoy the changing seasons atop Flagstaff Mountain. We continue to look for new ways to bring exciting tastes to our menu while upgrading our facilities to offer the most forward-thinking concepts with regards to service, care, culinary selection and price points that match our customers’ desires.

 

 

 

 

To this day there are three generations of the Monette family gracing the Flagstaff House.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team

Our

Staff

Adam Monette

General Manager & Partner

Chris Royster

Executive Chef & Partner

 

Ben Kramer

Executive Sous Chef

James Roberts

Assistant Sous Chef

 

Julian Von Holten

Chef Tournant

Sarah Morris

Private Events & Reservation Specialist, Assistant Manager

 

Annie Floro

Event & Social Media Coordinator

 

Kit Sawyer

Assistant Dining Room Manager

Jay Beard

Lead Bartender

Founders

Our

Founders

Don Monette

Mark Monette

 

Scott Monette