Get Your Licks on Route 66

Got a sweet tooth?
Then Illinois is the place for you – with more than 100 candy manufacturers in the state. Milk Duds are made in Illinois and were named “duds” because the manufacturers could never create the perfectly round piece that they wanted. 

Very First Dairy Queen
501 Chicago Street, Joliet
Chill out at the very first Dairy Queen, opened in 1940. DQ’s soft-frozen treat was a hit from the start. Within the first two hours of the “trial sale,” this ice cream shop dished out more than 1,600 servings of the new creamy delight.
First Dairy Queen

Cool Fact
It takes 1.75 gallons of milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream. Phew! Thankfully Illinois farms have more than 100,000 cows! Learn more about diary treats

Memory Lane
Lexington
This one-mile stretch of original Route 66 has been restored to the 1940s era with vintage billboard and Burma Shave signs. Driving parts of Illinois today, you’ll still see Burma Shave-style signs promoting corn ethanol and soy biodiesel.

Funk's Grove Pure Maple Sirup
5257 Old Route 66, Shirley
Funk’s Grove is the kind of nostalgia that sticks with you. The Funk family has been farming and making sirup for six generations. Yes, they spell sirup with an “i” on purpose– to distinguish it from syrup made from sugar instead of sap. More on Funk's Grove

Illinois Is Super Sticky Sweet
Some of the corn you drive past is made into the corn syrup that you find in your soda. Corn syrup is simply sugar made from natural corn, with the same chemical make up and calories as sugar made from cane or beets. 

Dixie Truck Stop
501 South Main Street, Mc Lean
In 1928, J.P. Walters and John Geske rented part of a mechanic’s garage here to sell sandwiches to Route 66 travelers and truckers. By the 1930s, the operation had grown to a full-fledged restaurant, cabins, and a cattle pen. The Dixie was owned and operated by the Geske family from 1928-2003 and was only closed one day after a fire in1965.  

Decamp Junction Roadhouse
8727 State Route 4, Staunton
Route 66 is full of tales of bootleg whiskey. In 1930, thugs in a black sedan and with guns drawn, pulled into this Rout 66 icon. They robbed the bar of slot machines, alcohol, guns, and cash.

Stomping Grapes Was Stomped Out
Prohibition and Illinois… you usually think Al Capone and Chicago. But what about rural Illinois? During prohibition, many farmers pulled out grapevines in order to plant other crops. It took more than 40 years before Illinois rediscovered vino. Today there are more than 75 wineries and 230 grape growers in the state.

From Field to Fork
With 70,000+ Illinois farms growing everything from soybeans to bison, no wonder there are more than 950 food companies in the state. Check your on-the-road snack and see where it’s made. Perhaps Illinois? 

Springers Creek Winery
817 Hillsboro Avenue, Edwardsville, Illinois
Celebrate this historic highway with wine of the same name. Springers Creek is in a historic 1910 storefront grocery and produces local wines, like the Route 66 Blush. More on Springers Creek Winery

Illinois Vino?
Route 66 starts in Illinois and ends in California. Your wine tasting should, too. Wineries in the state produce more than a half a million gallons of the purple stuff and the industry supports 2500 jobs. Besides, every glass of Illinois wine is accompanied by true Midwest hospitality.

Horseradish Capital of the World
Collinsville
Farmers in southern Illinois grow about 85% of all the horseradish in the world. That’s good news for those of us who love the zing in our shrimp sauce. More about horseradish