The South Grand dining corridor
Then and now, starting at 12th & South Grand and going west to Second.
Then:
Now:
And one mainstay through it all - though it's not a restaurant, it deserves some mention: Midway Liquors.
What am I forgetting? Comments, memories and corrections always welcome.
Then:
- The Den Chilli Parlor (somewhere in the middle of the block between 12th & 11th; there may have been a couple different versions of this over the years)
- The Southtown Grill (11th & South Grand; this is the first place my mom ever took me out to lunch; I think I had a fried egg sandwich)
- The Georgian (southwest corner 9th & South Grand)
- Lums (7th & South Grand; I always got the pizza burger; later became Hardee's parking lot)
- Hardee's (6th & South Grand; this closed just a little over a month ago; noticed this weekend the property is for sale)
- The Jackie Robinson System (between Sixth & Fifth; in later years this was a Chinese carry-out)
- A Chinese restaurant, the name of which escapes me (a storefront on north side of South Grand between Sixth & Fifth)
- Tops Big Boy (corner Fifth & South Grand; I was a semi-regular)
- The Dew Chilli Parlor (on Fifth a half block north of South Grand; edited to correct name from Den to Dew)
- Some little pie place? (on Fifth a half block south of South Grand; what was the name of that place?)
- Hot dog, rootbeer, and candy stand inside the lobby of Sears (Second & South Grand)
- Red Barn Chicken (2nd & South Grand)
- Arby's
Now:
- Rally's
- McDonald's
- South Grand Sandwich Shop (formerly known as Swiss Colony Cheese Shop)
- A little Chinese place (just east of Second on South Grand; why can't I ever remember the names of Chinese restaurants?)
- Mekong Cafe (in the location of the former Taco Trio; on Second just south of South Grand)
- The Spaghetti Shop
- Sunrise Cafe
And one mainstay through it all - though it's not a restaurant, it deserves some mention: Midway Liquors.
What am I forgetting? Comments, memories and corrections always welcome.
Labels: dining, food, illinois, restaurants, south grand, springfield
posted by Marie at 8:48 PM
20 Comments:
Lets add SteakNShake on Sgrand next to Midway later became checkers?? then Rallys
Not a restaurant but Thrifty/CVS now a lot
Mr Teds - maybe thats the pie place mentioned behind the old gas station cooks?? anyway mr teds became little caesars and the gas station is a Shell
Tops big Boy is now walgreens
McDonalds takes the block where storefronts were on Sgrand between 5th and 6th
Subway @ 5th and Sgrand- was a Mobil when i was a kid
Ponderosa @ 4th & SGrand now it may be vacant but I used to work there
Heres one i just thought of but its not a restaurant Cap Glisson Motors at 4th @ sgrand
off topic locations(payless and Kroger where the office building is @ 2nd & S Grand)
about a block north of 2nd & S Grand was grannys? Sunrise cafe
How bout Browns Chicken Spring & SGrand- became concord cleaners? in 1993
White Hen/Hometown pantry same intersection
It's actually Jack Robinson, not Jackie Robinson:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=jack&w=83975835%40N00
I also have some photos from the Aloha bar on south 5th, I think.
Anonymous, excellent additions. I totally forgot about Kroger. I used to get really good sandwiches at the White Hen. But, not for a really long time.
baikinange, thank you for the correction. I don't know why I keep saying Jackie. And, I sang at the Aloha on more than one occasion. I'm checking out your photos now.
The place on 6th behind the gas station was The Shack. Memory jogged (finally) due to a comment in another post on this blog.
Anonymous, the only Mr. Ted's I knew was at Jefferson & MacArthur. Of course, it could have been somewhere else before that.
But, since we're talking Mr. Ted's... does anyone remember a Steak & Egger on 9th at about Jackson or Edwards? Mm! Nothing hits the spot better than steak and eggs, white toast and jam at 3:00 in the morning. I think.
Marie, now that I think about Mr Teds--Imight have the name wrong. I remember they had frozen custard. maybe the name was ted's frozen custard??
I aslo remember that Steak n Egger- right in front of the Travelodge-i think that was the name of the hotel
Here's a memory ...
There was also a Steak and Egg on MacArthur ... across from McDonalds. When I was small, I thought it would be so FANCY to go eat steak and eggs ... I guess because my parents just never went there.
So years later, when I was a teenager, a bunch of us decided to go for lunch ... and it was terribly run down. Of course, YEARS had passed ... and I suppose I waited too long.
Also, there used to be a Pizza Hut just off South Grand ... and 5th maybe? 6th? Is it still there? It was right next door to Thriftys. I vaguely remember Big Boy but I definately remember Lums ... Lums had really good horseshoes. :)
I never went to the Georgian on 9th (or was it 11th) ... it was closed as long as I can remember. But I've always been scared of the place because my Mom told me about a girl getting killed after working there one evening. Something about she got off work but never showed up at home? Anyhow, I was fairly young when she told me and I guess it's always stuck with me. Even when it became an antique place ... I wanted nothing to do with it. LOL
Uncle Ed's Frozen Custard (owned by local attorney Eddie Pree) occupied the Shack after the Shack closed down. Shack had great RB sand. Pree's custard was outstanding.
Swiss Colony sold sandwiches in the early 70's, way before Hardee's was ever thought of.
Hills Brothers was the name of the shoe store next to Kroger's, right next to the railroad tracks (where the Bloom Building is now).
The Chinese Restaurant between 5th & 6th was named Sun Luck. (where I found out that waitressing was not the job for me!)
The building where Arby's was, used to be called something else, I can picture the sign, but the name escapes me right now. It did sell roast beef sandwiches.
Also, there used to be a drug store called Mummerts where either the dry cleaner or Sunrise Cafe is.
Forgot one! Remember Watts Brothers pharmacy on the corner of Pasfield and South Grand. They had the best chocolate malts!
Western Auto, directly across from The Little Red School House on South Grand - about 3 blocks west of The Georgian Restaurant.
To thirtywhat:
The girl from the Georgian who got killed after work one night was the daughter of a fire chief, last night was Hanselman. She went to school with my sister. I was very young when that happened, but every time I saw the Georgian, I thought of her.
The Georgian had good food and probably the best pies in town - especially the butterscotch and coconut cream pies. I didn't eat there a lot, but when I was 7 or 8 years old, our Brownie Scout leader took us there for lunch and I still remember the first time I was in the place. What impressed me the most were the white linen tablecloths.
Oh my, I'm on a roll now. Does anyone else remember the Goldblatt's on 9th, 1 block south of South Grand - across from the Georgian? It was, I think, the first store in Springfield to be open 7 days a week. After Goldblatt's fizzled out, the Illinois Lottery was in that building for the first few years of its existence.
It was Steinburg Baum, not Goldblatt's. That store was in Town & Country shopping center where Burlington Coat Factory is now.
Don't forget NorbAndy's, Lums, The Shack. I loved all of those places. The Shack had the best fried chicken and home made bread and pies.......YUMMM!
And what about Thompson's Cafeteria?? I think that was the name.
This is off thread, but I remember the Orpheum, that grand palace. What a shame it is gone :( Is there a discussion thread on landmarks of Springfield?
I miss Springfield. I lived there for 23 years then moved to Miami where I have tolerated the traffic and rudeness for 20 years now. I hope to retire in Springfield if my plans work out.
William in Miami, Fl.
ThirtyWhat mentioned Pizza Hut on Sixth right next to Thrifty Drug, which I forgot. After probably close to a 40 year run, it closed a couple weeks ago (June 2008).
What are they building where Thrifty and Western Auto were? What a mess. On the Western Auto site appears to be a tiny little car wash with a really sharp left turn to exit.
Does anyone remember the Goody Goody Drive Inn off of South Grand Ave?
From the Sunday, July 13, 2008, paper:
"The PIZZA HUT at Sixth Street and South Grand Avenue has closed. Company officials say it won’t reopen."
I remember Red Barn! It was one of the early fast food franchises. We often ate there after Mom did her weekly shopping at the Kroger's across the street (provided we behaved well enough in the store to earn it!) Well, until us kids developed a taste for that new place McDonalds, anyway.. but I still remember their jingle: "When the hungries hit, when the hungries hit, Hit! The Red Barnnn!"
Does anyone remember the little hamburger place that sat right on the corner at 2nd and South Grand? It was on the northeast corner. They sold 12 cent hamburger back in the late 50's and early 60's. I loved going there!!!
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