There are as many tall tales and legends tied to the notorious American gangster Al Capone as there are dead bodies and missing persons!

However, historians believe that Capone and his gang often escaped the heat of Chicago, both from the temperature and the law, by heading into Michigan, taking with them a haul of illegal alcohol as it was the era of prohibition!

In the 1920s, the Twin Gables Hotel and Restaurant, hosted vaudeville banjo player Tom Carey who invited his musician friends from Chicago to perform for guests. Capone’s gang frequented the joint to enjoy the music and food and to peddle their alcohol. Local lore tells of a bullet hole in the wall of the bar made by one of Capone’s men after another guest made a pass at his girlfriend, who worked in the kitchen.

Today, the Twin Gables Hotel and Restaurant has been renamed to the Hotel Frankfort located on the corner of Main and Third Street in the lovely town of Frankfort, where Mike and I have visited twice since we have been in the area. The current hotel owners believe that in the basement of their hotel there was once a tunnel to enable the movement of alcohol during the prohibition years from Frankfort’s bay into the hotel and onwards.

The next time Mike and I are here in Michigan we will revisit Frankfort and try and find the bullet hole in the bar wall! Above is a picture of Frankfort’s bay which leads out into Lake Michigan. The town of Frankfort and the whole area is really lovely!