1980′s

In 1980, John Patrick O’Connell, a.k.a. “Johnny O”, bought the Rathskeller from Dean Smith. Not only did John perfect the “Case Study” during his tenure, he also set an unbeatable record which earned its way into The Guinness Book of World Records.

On November 9, 1983, John decided to throw an anniversary party to celebrate fifty years of Skeller tradition. “Come on down early,” John said, “we’ll try to set a case drinking record.” Little did he know his customers would pack the bar by noon. At 2:00am, the case sales had reached 903, beating the existing record, held by a bar in Germany, by over 200 cases. And so, the case races began. In 1986, ownership changed once again. The Skeller was purchased by Duke Gastiger and “Fast” Eddie Hill, both former “Skeller Rats”. In 1988, Duke and Eddie bought the Old Main Restaurant above the Skeller and renamed it Spats Cafe & Speakeasy. The Skeller kitchen was dismantled and lunches were prepared in the Spats kitchen.