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email: roadarch@outlook.com |
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| Illinois Eateries (page 1) |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| Chessie's Restaurant Barrington, IL |
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| Chessie's Restaurant was built from a former train station which was moved here in 1978 along with a 1927 Pullman railcar from the llinois Central Railroad. The railcar is installed inside the restaurant and used as a dining room. This caboose is installed outside. For more, see this website. [map] |
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Berwyn:
Berwyn Chicken Co. |
| Lem's BBQ House Chicago, IL |
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| Lem's BBQ House was established in 1954. This location moved to this location in 1968. I believe the building previously housed the Honey Hush Drive-in which was there by the late 1950s. I don't know if this sign was repurposed when Lem's moved there or if it was built for Lem's. It was previously red and gold and repainted to green and red around 2008. For more, see this website. [map] |
| Lou Mitchell's Chicago, IL |
Yellow Submarine [gone] Chicago, IL |
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Lou Mitchell's opened in 1923 and is a Chicago breakfast institution. It relocated here in 1949. [map]
The Yellow Submarine had been around since at least the 1970s. The building had been vacant since about 2010. These photos are from 2012. By 2014, the building had been demolished. |
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More Chicago:
Palace Grill Snappy Service System Tutto Italiano |
| commercial building Chicago Heights, IL |
former Red Barn Chicago Heights, IL |
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This commercial building might have been a fast food restaurant. It has housed Hy-Way Insurance since at least 2007. [map]
The former Red Barn restaurant was built in the 1960s. After it closed, it housed Tom's Beer Barn. The barn-shaped sign frame was gone by 2023. The building now houses Fara's Fashion Exchange. [map] There were 300-400 Red Barn restaurants in 19 states built from 1961-1988. Although there are no operating locations left, many of the buildings have been adapted. For more, see this website. |
| Bert's Chuck Wagon Collinsville, IL 2010: |
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Bert's Chuck Wagon opened here in 1963. It took over the former Chuck Wagon restaurant and switched the BBQ menu to Tex-Mex. The sign was originally located on a pole next to the building. In 2010, the restaurant was forced to move to a new location due to road expansion. This A-frame building was demolished. The sign was repainted and put on display inside the new location (bottom photo). By 2017, the sign was back outside, installed on the building. However, the midsection had been turned into a digital display. The building now houses the Verona Coffee Co. but what's left of the Bert's sign is still on the exterior. [map]
After this Collinsville location, approximately 14 others were built in Southern Illinois. The Fairview Heights, IL location, now Chuck Wagon Mexican Food, still has the original, similar sign. It was part of the chain but never used the Bert's name. There were locations in Centralia, Du Quoin, Edwardsville, Freeburg, Granite City, Highland, Millstadt, Mount Vernon, New Athens, Wood River, and two in Belleville which are all gone. |
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Des Plaines:
Choo-Choo Grill Elmwood Park:
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| Orange Garden Restaurant Chicago, IL (now Highland Park, IL) |
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| The Orange Garden Restaurant opened in 1924, making it the oldest Chinese restaurant in Chicago. The restaurant went by a different name until 1932. This sign was built by Flashtric and might be from then. Some say it was the oldest working neon sign in Chicago. The facade was probably from the 1940s. In 2022, the sign was sold. The sign was restored, and installed at Madame ZuZu's in Highland Park, IL. The text for "Orange Garden" was changed to Madame ZuZu's." For more, see this website. [map] |
| Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop [gone] Macomb, IL |
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This Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop location had been closed since around 2007. The sign was removed and the building was demolished around 2017.
The Maid-Rite chain was established in 1926 in Iowa. There are still about two dozen locations operating in Iowa, Illinois, Minnestoa, Missouri, and Ohio. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop Quincy, IL |
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| This Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop opened in 1928. This sign appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. For more, see this website. [map] |
| Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop Springfield, IL |
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| This Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop opened in 1921 and was never part of the Iowa chain. The original part of the building is a caboose from 1881 with the wheels removed. This sign was built in 2024 by the Ace Sign Co. There was previously a rectangular plastic box sign. [map] |
| Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop Galesburg, IL |
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| This Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop opened in the early 1940s. It moved to this location in 1959. The "1926" on the sign refers to the first Iowa location. [map] |
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Illinois Misc. page 2 |
Illinois Drive-ins |
Illinois Ice Cream |
Eateries Main Page |
| RoadsideArchitecture.com |
Copyright. All photos at this website are copyrighted and may only be used with my consent. This includes posting them at Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, other websites, personal use, etc. Tips & Updates. If you have suggestions about places that I haven't covered, historical info, or updates about places/things that have been remodeled or removed, I'd love to hear from you: roadarch@outlook.com. |