Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Knotek.
Jonathan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Like any good story, this started with a few friends out drinking. Since I already worked as a writer/guide/driver for the Chicago Pizza Tours, my friends and I were discussing what else might make an interesting tour over a few cocktails. Initially, we discussed the idea of a craft cocktail tour. This quickly morphed into the idea for a modern speakeasy tour.
As I’m sure you know the “speakeasy” style bar it the trend now. I realized almost immediately that it made no sense to take people to a place that was trying to be a version of something original, authentic and most importantly still existed in Chicago. I created a basic idea and plan for what I thought the tour could be and brought the idea to Jon Porter, owner of the Pizza Tour. Initially, Jon had little interest other than cumulating and helping me build the tour. So, I started doing some research and began compiling info for the tour.
After some time Jon called me one morning and asked if we could start building the tour together. To this day I still don’t really know what the catalyst was to bring Jon on board. We used the existing infrastructure of the Pizza Tour as a base and then spent about six months researching, writing, scouting locations etc. We announced almost entirely through social media and set a date for the first tour.
I guided the first tour off of a handwritten rough outline of all of our research. I did every tour for almost a year and it took about that long to create the polished product we offer today. The truth, however, is that we never stop developing. Whether it be rewritten, new places, new info, route changes, whatever, we’re constantly trying to create a better experience for our customers. It’s been about three and a half years and our success has exceeded our expectations.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Honestly, the journey has been smoother than I expected. We had a great product and delivered it well. Through great reviews and positive word of mouth, things took off much faster than we thought it might. I would say the only real issue was convincing the places we worked with that we were for real and could be a positive impact on their business.
Some came along quicker than others but for the most part everyone “got it” pretty quickly. The rest is all cost of doing business things. Bus maintenance, an employee issue here or there but that’s it. That being said our crew is fantastic and present us with very few issues.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Chicago Prohibition Tours story. Tell us more about the business.
What we do is give people a crash course in the era of prohibition itself that focuses on the speakeasy. We work with places that were all working speakeasies in the 1920’s and ’30’s and are still working bars today. We tackle prohibition from the movements that created the idea through its development into law, it’s ratification, the problems it caused, the names it created (both famous and infamous), it’s failure, repeal and it impacts on the United States even today.
While we do this we also bring you inside these places and walk you through. This is a hands on experience. We truly wish to transport you back to Chicago’s most notorious era. This is also what set’s us apart. This isn’t a “sightseeing tour”. We don’t point at a building and let you snap a picture as we drive by. We want you to immerse yourself in the experience. We want you to sit and maybe grab a drink where Capone did, where O’Bannion did. Ideally, you shouldn’t just learn it. you should feel it.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
All success comes with a certain amount of luck. I often view luck and opportunity as one in the same. The reality is though you HAVE TO DO THE WORK. If you’re making sure everything gets done that needs to be then luck/opportunity whatever you want to call it will present itself.
The hard part is being able to recognize those opportunities and embrace them. I do have to admit though that sometimes you get that break and you just have to smile, shrug, and say, “That worked out well. I’ll take it!’
Pricing:
- The tour is $45 per person.
Contact Info:
- Website: prohibitiontours.com
- Phone: 888-210-3237
- Email: jknotek@chicagopizzatours.com, chicagospeakeasytours@gmail.com
- Instagram: prohibitiontours
- Facebook: facebook.com/prohibitiontours
- Twitter: @speakeasytours
- Yelp: Chicago Prohibition Tours
- Other: (Trip Advisor) Chicago Prohibition Tours
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
