Longtime Downtown Tavern Owner Alice Sutcliff Dies

Update: Visitation for Alice Sutcliff will be held from 3-8 p.m. Friday at Dieterle Memorial Home, 1120 S. Broadway in Montgomery. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the same location.

Alice Sutcliff, who for 53 years ran on River Street downtown, died Wednesday night at 73, after many years of failing health.

Sutcliff had been battling issues with her heart for about 20 years, according to her daughter-in-law, Karen Sowers, manager of The Mill. She had multiple surgeries, including one triple-bypass, and had not reacted well to medication recently, Sowers said.

Sutcliff has been an institution downtown for decades. Her parents, Alex and Sophie Pocus, bought The Mill in 1944, when Alice was only 7. Her family lived in apartment space above the tavern until 1953 when her parents retired to a farm on Montgomery Road. They decided to lease out the tavern but they didn’t do it for long.

Alice Sutcliff graduated from West Aurora High School in 1955, took over The Mill in 1958, and ran it ever since. The tavern is a downtown gathering spot, and she saw it through booming times and downturns. Before the loss of several factories in the area, including Allsteel, Dial and Western Electric, Sutcliff said the tavern was always packed.

Even though the faltering economy has taken its toll, The Mill remains a place for people to relax and have good food, drink and conversation.

Sutcliff was one of the prime movers behind Oktoberfest, which started up in 1999. And she was the co-chair of the village’s beautification committee since it began, working with former trustee Jeanne Felten.

Sutcliff also was instrumental in starting the Greater Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. She and eight other business owners began meeting in 1998, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall on River Street. Originally, the group was called the Montgomery Business Council, but soon changed its name to the one in use today.

Sutcliff served as president of the chamber for 10 years, retiring in December 2008. The chamber’s current president, Jennifer Jones-Sinnott, said Sutcliff will be dearly missed.

“Alice was a real community leader, and served as an example to all of us,” Jones-Sinnott said. “Her work and determination to make the Greater Montgomery Chamber of Commerce what it is today will always be remembered, along with her contributions over the years to the community she loved to serve and be a part of.”

In 2006, Sutcliff served as grand marshal of the Montgomery Fest parade, an honor she took great pride in.

Sutcliff has three sons—Michael Webster, Tim Webster and Bradley Sowers—all of whom worked at The Mill and then went on to other careers. She has four grandchildren, three of whom live in Texas; one great-granddaughter; and several step-grandchildren.