The space that once housed Bev's at 245 S. Washington St. has a new life as The George, an upscale American tavern where the top seller since opening is a prime rib French dip and the burger gets stamped tableside with a replica of Mayor George Pradel's police badge.

Co-owners Dave Miller and Will Cullen opened the restaurant steps from the Riverwalk on one of downtown Naperville's busiest dining blocks, near Sullivan's Steakhouse and Barnes & Noble. The George is the fifth concept from their Empire Restaurant Group, which also operates Empire Burgers + Brew at 48 W. Chicago Ave. and Northcott Liquorette at 40 W. Chicago Ave. Cullen's first restaurant, Empire Burgers + Brew, opened in 2016.

The George is now open for lunch and dinner.

Miller gave a video tour published Tuesday, July 22, on Living in Naperville, walking host Dan Firks through five seating zones ranging from a quiet fireplace dining room to a louder bar area and a covered patio with an adjustable-roof pergola, fans, and a fire pit.

"You come in whatever mood you're in," Miller said. "You have soft seating back here in the Pontiac Lounge, a nice intimate dining room by the fireplace, some really cool VIP cozy booths, and then the bar that's a little more action packed, a little louder, where the music's a little more vivid."

The Pontiac Lounge takes its name from the building's past. The Burgess family operated a gas station on the site decades ago and parked cars for sale out front on Washington Street. A vintage photograph of a Pontiac GTO in front of the building, given to Cullen by former tenant Bev Patterson, inspired the lounge's name. Miller said he and Cullen saw the photo and immediately agreed.

The restaurant's name honors four prominent Naperville figures named George: Mayor A. George Pradel, the city's longest-serving mayor (1995–2015) and former Naperville police officer; Judge Winfred George Knoch, a Senior Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and namesake of Knoch Park; George Martin II, whose limestone quarry fortune after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire built the estate that became Naper Settlement; and George Laird, who built the Pre-Emption House in 1834, one of the first hotels west of Chicago.

Miller said the owners researched the name with the Naperville Historical Society and kept finding it woven through the city's past.

On the menu, the George Dip has been the top seller nearly every day since opening. It's built with rare prime rib, flat-top griddled, New York aged white cheddar, French bread, and herbed jus. The Badge 13 Burger is a prime, dry-aged double patty on a brioche potato bun with onion bacon jam made with bourbon and brown sugar. A cast-iron stamp of Pradel's original badge, from his days as the 13th officer on the Naperville Police Department, is pressed into the bun at the table.

Miller described the restaurant as family-friendly with a focused menu. He said the kitchen targets food delivery in 10 to 12 minutes during summer months.

Reservations and the full menu are available at georgenaperville.com or by calling 331-226-2402.