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Illinois Eateries (page 2)

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Bert's Chuck Wagon
Collinsville, IL

2010:
2012:
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.

Des Plaines:
Choo-Choo Grill

Russell's Barbecue
Elmwood Park, IL
Russell's Barbecue opened in 1930. I don't know if this is the original building. The chimney letters have beeen there since at least the 1940s. The signs around the roof have been there since around the mid-1950s. [map]

Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop [gone]
Macomb, IL
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
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
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
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]

Bunny Hutch
Lincolnville, IL
The Bunny Hutch fast food restaurant is located next door to Novelty Golf which opened in 1949. The stand is believed to have opened around the same time. It may have had the same owners originally. The rabbit in front is an example of statues that were mass-produced for mini golf courses. [map]

Burgers to Go
Madison, IL
I believe this drive-thru building housed Burgers to Go originally and was built in 1990. It housed a few other restaurants after that but the building is vacant now. [map]

Illinois Misc.
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