The face of old downtown DeKalb lies just under the surface of some buildings, and not so far beneath on others.

Robert Goering, co-owner of Andy’s Lounge, 317 E. Lincoln Highway, said he still sees the ghosts of a once-lively downtown when he gazes down Lincoln Highway.

With the restoration of McCabe’s, 323 E. Lincoln Highway, “DeKalb’s first nightclub” will return a piece of the old downtown back to its original glory.

McCabe’s, which also is co-owned by Goering, was the second bar in DeKalb to be granted a liquor license after prohibition, the first being Andy’s, Goering said. The original “McCabe’s Lounge” was a barber shop, named for owner James McCabe.

According to a July 2, 1971, article in the Northern Star, McCabe decided that a tavern would be more profitable than shaves and haircuts. He borrowed $300 to open the bar in 1944, which was purchased in 1968 by long-time manager Wendell Blake.

Old DeKalb businesses have been bumped around significantly over the years, Goering said.

Andy’s, which received a liquor license when it opened in 1933, was named for owner Andy Pleasa. The bar previously was located on 10th Street and was part of what was then a working-class area, Goering said.

The building that currently houses McCabe’s and Andy’s was a pharmacy and a Rexall drug store in the very early 1900s, he added.

When the pharmacist moved to what is the current location of The House, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, the Pleasa family moved to the current Andy’s location. They opened a restaurant in the basement and a bar on the main floor, while they resided on the upper floor.

“They owned Andy’s and ran it until Sept. 1, 2000, when we took over,” Goering said. “It was in the same family the whole time. It went from the grandfather, to the father, to the wife, and then it was sold by Andy’s son’s wife, Eleanor Pleasa.”

McCabe’s once claimed the current location of Hillside Restaurant, 121 N. Second St. It then moved to the current location of the Paperback Grotto, 157 E. Lincoln Highway. A former bank and hardware store, the building that currently houses McCabe’s was converted into the Innovation Restaurant in the ’30s, Goering said.

“It remained a restaurant until the early ’60s, when it was changed into an Ace Hardware,” he said. “When Ace Hardware moved to Sycamore Road, the building became vacant.”

It was then that Blake purchased McCabe’s and moved it to its current location. In 1976, Goering and his brother Glenn purchased the business and owned it until 1991, before buying it back in 2000.

Goering said family ties have kept the businesses going through one century and into a new one.

“At Andy’s and McCabe’s, we cannot forget our lineage,” Goering said, “because I think people really respect history.”