Food.
With the advent of the long road trip came the need for the American motoring family to stop and refuel not only their car but also their bellies, and that rise in demand coupled with the ease of setting up a cheap diner caused the number of roadside restaurants to soar. The American cuisine was forged along the US highways in the middle of the twentieth century as tiny dives developed
local favorites and fast food chains that thrive to this very day first cut their teeth flipping burgers for vacationing roadies.
With a frequency of towns usually unseen along the western miles of Route 66, Illinois in particular played home to a multitude of restaurants that popped up. Featured here are not only several relics of the road's past but also many of the businesses that survived to this day and still serve not only their local regulars but tourists from across the US and, with the international popularty of the Mother Road, the entire world.
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The longest running restaurant on Route 66 started to the west in Carlinville where the Mother Road originally ran for the first four years of her life. As the road moved west, so did the Ariston, migrating to Litchfield on the old two-lane route where the business remains to this day. Founded by the Adam Family, the Ariston is still under its orignal ownership and is considered one of the finer places to eat not only in Litchfield but in all of Montgomery County. Just a mile or so off of the interstate and between two alignments of Route 66, the restaurant continues to serve both locals and tourists. |
 Ariston Restaurant
Litchfield, Illinois
1926 - present
For more information and photographs visit the Litchfield page.
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This diner in the northern panhandle region of Montgomery County has changed hands several times in recent years but continues to serve Central Illinois and the Mother Road with homecooked food and cheap overnight rates. The classic sign that dated back to the days when Route 66 still cruised past on the east side of the property was restored to perfect condition in mid-2007 and attracts northbound travelers to stop and take in this landmark business and Illinois Route 66 Hall of Famer. |
 Art's Motel/Restaurant
Farmersville, Illinois
19?? - present
For more information and photographs visit the Farmersville page.
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Surely the guardians of the Mother Road throughout Illinois are the Muffler Men, their hulking bodies leering over any who would do Route 66 harm. The most famous of the statues resides outside the Launching Pad restaurant on the north end of Wilmington, where the Gemini Giant hangs on to his spaceship and watches over this Route 66 landmark. As the rural sensibilities of Illinois start to become more urban and compact as the road moves into Chicagoland here, the Launching Pad remains as one of the long time Route 66 standards that reflects the heyday of America's Main Street. |
 Launching Pad Rest.
Wilmington, Illinois
1960 - present
For more information and photographs visit the Wilmington page.
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An old roadhouse on the Chain of Rocks Road between Edwardsville and the Mississippi River, the Luna Cafe has seen its share of history including a rumored stint as a brothel as well as alleged stops from Al Capone. Today it sits along a more remote, less traveled stretch of Route 66 and stays alive due to good support from the local community. The retro sign out front points what few Route 66 tourists travel through here off of the road to visit this Illinois Route 66 Hall off Famer. |
 Luna Cafe
Mitchell, Illinois
19?? - present
For more information and photographs visit the Mitchell page.
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Only relics remain from this McLean County hotspot that attracted teens and tourists from all over Central Illinois to the south side of Lexington. With the old two-lane alignment of Route 66 on the east side of the restaurant and the four-lane skirting by to the west, traffic flowed right to this classic drive-in for decades. Now the property sits in disrepair, the sign crumbling and old, broken down cars sitting helpless under the rusting canopy. A sad sight in an otherwise gorgeous Route 66 community. |
 Oasis Drive-In
Lexington, Illinois
19?? - 19??s
For more information and photographs visit the Lexington page.
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Home to one of Route 66's favorite families, the Pig-Hip Restaurant served up treats almost every year of the Mother Road's life from this tiny town just north of Springfield. Ernie and Frances Edwards closed up shop in the early 1990s but kept the property alive as a museum to their historic establishment and the road that brought them decades of business. Sadly the building was lost to a fire in March of 2007, though the Edwards and their home next door escaped unharmed. |
 Pig-Hip Restaurant
Broadwell, Illinois
1937 - 1991
Destroyed 2007
For more information and photographs visit the Broadwell page.
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One of the most famous landmarks on Route 66, Ted Drewes' Frozen Custard has been serving up creamy concretes from their Chippewa location since 1941 when Ted Drewes, Sr. opened his location on the Mother Road to take advantage of the latest realignment of the highway in St. Louis. You don't have to be an expert on Route 66 to know about this St. Louis institution; it's not summer (or spring or fall) (or winter) in Mound City until you've stood outside the classic white cottage house and held your cup of custard upside down in an affront to Isaac Newton. |
 Ted Drewes
Saint Louis, Missouri
1941 - present
For more information and photographs visit the StL City 66 page.
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