Rock Falls bar with 84-year history emerges with new look

ROCK FALLS — A lot of friends bond over a particular watering hole – a comforting place where one can belly up to the bar, catch up with old buds and regale tales of old.

But at PJ’s II in Rock Falls, four longtime pals – J.L. Hudson, Chris Law, Rollie Elder and John Witherow – have a unique connection to that establishment.

The bar first was Longfellows/Hudson’s Tap and was run by J.L.’s grandfather, Ty Hudson, from 1941 to 1982.

Next, it was known as Lucky Lady, and was owned by Chris Law’s grandfather, Ed Hussung, from 1982-89. Next up, Rollie Elder’s grandpops Nick Mason ran Nic-A-Shay before selling the bar, now known as PJ’s II, to John Witherow’s father, John Witherow Sr., in 1993.

After John’s father died in July, management of the bar moved to John himself.

“We wanted to do a complete renovation so we closed immediately and started to get to work,” he said.

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J.L. Hudson (left), Rollie Elder, John Witherow and Chris Law have not only been friends for over 30 years, they are all descendants of former owners of PJ’s II bar in Rock Falls. (Alex T. Paschal)

Stripping off decades of paneling, paint and memories not only exposed the original brick, it got John thinking about the history of the place and those on both sides of the bar. Rollie Elder remembers the coffee club of retired steel workers who would meet every morning and “connecting with the shift workers who would come in during the day.”

The renovated PJ’s will look completely different from the one you might remember. Exposed brick, large television screens, flame-treated floors, a new, repositioned bar and a new black tin ceiling that before “we didn’t know if it was painted yellow or stained with nicotine,” Witherow said with a laugh.

Back in the day, hard-rocking Quad-City band Lynn Allen used to play the space and pack the house. Witherow is hoping to bring back that spirit with the new space and the planned reopening Feb. 1 with live music and karaoke.