[1][2] Founded during the United States' Prohibition Era (1920–1933), the club started illegally as a speakeasy in a stucco-sided residence in a relatively non-urbanized area to the city's south.

[4] The 5-8 Club's signature menu item is its Juicy Lucy cheeseburger which consists of cheese cooked inside a patty of Angus beef.

[1] In addition to Juicy Lucys, the 5-8 Club serves other dishes, including fried cheese curds, pork tenderloin sandwiches, potato wedges, and onion straws.

[1] Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl described the bar's Juicy Lucy in City Pages as a "big, sizzling, dense, and tender burger filled with good cheese"[5] while Thrillist's Kevin Alexander disagreed, writing that the patty "lacked serious flavor and the cheese didn't burn [his] tongue as much as just surrender en masse on [his] plate after an initial bite.

"[7] Of the ambiance, Motz wrote that in spite of "its clinical-looking rear entrance", the bar has a "comfortable dining room with a large outdoor patio.

"[1] James Norton commented that the eatery "has a clean, bright suburban sheen to it more evocative of a well-maintained Applebee's than a hole-in-the-wall tavern"[2] and Alexander compared the restaurant's exterior to "the rectory of a pretty happening church".