Watch: GM Matt Coover Tours Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Downtown Naperville

In this Living in Naperville episode, host Dan Firks tours Sullivan’s Steakhouse with GM Matt Coover, from the Wine Spectator Award-winning wine list and the Knockout cocktail to a walk through the steak case with head chef Jim. Matt also explains what’s kept Sullivan’s a downtown Naperville fixture since 1999.

Read the full guide to Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Naperville →

Video Transcript

Dan Firks: Hello and welcome to another episode of Living in Naperville. I’m a little on the hungry side, could use a glass of wine and a steak, so let’s go see what they’ve got on the grill. Hey, Matt.

Matt Coover: Hey, Dan, welcome to Sullivan’s Steakhouse. Good to have you here, can’t wait to show you around. Don’t mind the noise, we’re getting ready for dinner shift, but let me show you around.

Dan Firks: I can’t wait, let’s go check it out.

Matt Coover: So Dan, one of the first things I want to show you is our Sullivan’s private label Cabernet.

Dan Firks: Didn’t even know you had that.

Matt Coover: It’s from Napa, so it’s one of our best Cabernets, by the glass or by the bottle, and it’s at a very affordable price.

Dan Firks: I can’t wait to try it, that’s my favorite. Let’s give this a try.

Matt Coover: This is a very, very full-bodied, fruit-forward, luscious Cabernet. It pairs really well with all of our steaks and lamb chops. If you’re going with a steak, this has got the perfect tannins to cut right through a beautiful hand-cut ribeye.

Dan Firks: Okay, here we go, cheers.

Matt Coover: Cheers.

Dan Firks: That is splendid, excellent, good choice. So tell me about the wine selection, because I see a lot back here.

Matt Coover: Yeah, we have over 240 wines, a vast selection. We try to stay kind of Napa Cab heavy, because that’s where the palate is for a steakhouse, but we do travel all over the world, we’ve got everything from Chile to Italy to France, even some from Germany if you like the sweeter wines. This is a perfect backdrop, wines from all over the world. In the restaurant we also have two sommeliers, I’m a level one sommelier, and I have a level two on staff. That really helps people who come in, and it helps demystify that very intimidating wine list. You can ask them what flavors you like, or what kind of steak you’re having so they can pair the best wine with it, it makes people a little more comfortable. We want to find out what you’re used to drinking and get something in that ballpark. Some people want to venture out, but not too much, they want something in their comfort zone. They might be a little scared of choosing the wrong wine, so having the sommeliers there just makes the experience so much better.

Matt Coover: In addition to the two sommeliers we have in house, one of them helped compose our wine list, which earned the Wine Spectator Award in June of 2024.

Dan Firks: Tell me a little more about that.

Matt Coover: Wine Spectator is a very vast company that essentially grades wine lists from all over the world, so to win an award like that you have to be very meticulous, there’s a lot of hoops to jump through, it has to be formatted a certain way, vintages need to be accurate. So it’s quite an accomplishment.

Dan Firks: Congratulations on that.

Matt Coover: Appreciate it, thank you.

Dan Firks: Matt, I’ve had many different appetizers here, tell me about one of your most popular.

Matt Coover: I would say the most popular is our Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls. We take our ribeye, hand cut, and mix it with white American cheese and sauteed onions, wrap it up in a wonton shell and deep fry it, it’s absolutely amazing. We put some sweet chili glaze and a little honey mustard on it, it’s addictive.

Dan Firks: I was hoping that was the one you were going to talk about, because it’s one of my favorites, it’s amazing. Matt, I know we have a lot of different specialty drinks here at Sullivan’s, tell me what is one of your most popular.

Matt Coover: One of the most popular drinks is our Knockout. We take sweet golden Hawaiian pineapples and orange vodka and fuse the two for 14 days, there’s a process, we do not touch it for 14 days, and then after that we just hand-squeeze it into a martini glass. It’s absolutely delicious, no additives, no added sugar, no added syrup, very, very delicious.

Dan Firks: Dangerously delicious. So tell me, how did you come up with the name Knockout?

Matt Coover: The Knockout comes from John L. Sullivan, who was a bare-knuckle boxer who essentially put boxing on the map back in the early 19th century, and that’s why we bear his namesake.

Dan Firks: Matt, I’ve had the pleasure of coming to many events here, small and large. Tell me a little more about what Sullivan’s offers for events.

Matt Coover: We actually have three private rooms, and we can host anything from 8 to 75 people. We’ve done graduations, celebrations, baby showers, baptisms, I mean, you name it, and we’ve hosted it here year after year. We see families come back and celebrate with us, and to be a part of that milestone with these families, that’s why I think we’ve been successful for so long, because we develop a really close personal relationship with our guests, with the community.

Dan Firks: I love that, well, thank you. Matt, I’ve had the pleasure many times of dining here in the bar, and you have live music, so tell me how that enhances the experience for the customer.

Matt Coover: It really does. The bar has kind of an eclectic atmosphere, it’s the heartbeat and the pulse of our steakhouse. People have two different options, they can come here for the live music, have a couple cocktails and hang out and have that vibe, or they can sit down and have a five-course dinner, from appetizers all the way to an after-dinner digestif. It’s an amazing experience in the bar, and it’s always busy every single night, you kind of have to get here early so you can get a nice table, I’ll tell you that.

Dan Firks: Very true. Alright, now I’m getting excited because I have the pleasure of meeting Jim, the head chef here, and I see some incredible pieces of steak, I need to know more about what I’m looking at.

Jim: Sure. What separates us, I think, from all the neighborhood steakhouses is that we have a bunch of different cuts. Starting here, this is our A5 Japanese Wagyu, one of the best, most tender, we sear it and serve it rare, it’s the best quality out there, we buy quality stuff here.

Dan Firks: I can’t wait to try that one.

Jim: And then here we have the Australian Wagyu longbone, 32 ounces. We’re running a feature on that right now, you get that with two lobster tails and a bottle of wine for $199, it’s a great deal. And over here we have an American Wagyu, an 18-ounce strip. Over here we have a 20-ounce cowboy cut, which is cut in house. And then here we have a bone-in filet, which is 14 ounces.

Dan Firks: I didn’t even notice the bone in the filet.

Jim: The bone gives it more flavor. And this one here is dry-aged, this is a dry-aged ribeye longbone, 28 to 30 ounces. We cut our steaks daily in house, the filets, the strips, the ribeyes, and we cut our lamb too, and our lamb is from Australia, again one of the best lambs out there.

Dan Firks: Well, that’s amazing, thank you for sharing that with us, Jim.

Jim: Thank you.

Dan Firks: Correct me if I’m mistaken, but Sullivan’s has been here since 1999?

Matt Coover: Correct.

Dan Firks: And I’ve seen a lot of restaurants come and go here in Naperville, so tell me, what does Sullivan’s do differently?

Matt Coover: One of the main things we do that separates us is we deliver what we call an unexpected experience. Everybody has an idea in their mind of how it’s going to go when they arrive at a restaurant, and their expectation level is somewhere around here, what we like to do is make sure that when they leave, it’s way up here, and they’re absolutely blown away.

Dan Firks: And what do you think makes that happen?

Matt Coover: A lot of different things, our massive selection of wine, as I mentioned, the sommeliers, the staff. We have a combined 50-plus years of tenure in the kitchen, and 30-plus years behind the bar.

Dan Firks: Isn’t one of your bartenders an original?

Matt Coover: He is, Dave came with the building, he was one of the original workers back in 1999. And the other part of it, Dan, is that we really develop a personal relationship with the community, we’ve celebrated baptisms, weddings, funerals, and people keep coming back.

Dan Firks: So you’re doing something right.

Matt Coover: I mean, we’re creatures of habit, if people have an enjoyable experience, an unexpected experience, they’re going to come back.

Dan Firks: Matt, I’ve been coming here since 1999, and I have to say, just keep doing what you’re doing. And I’m hoping we can stick around and finish this bottle of wine.

Matt Coover: Let’s do it. Excellent, thanks, Dan.

Dan Firks: Be sure to like and subscribe to get updates on our next episode, and for all your real estate needs, please visit Naperville.com.

Read the full guide to Sullivan’s Steakhouse in downtown Naperville →