Restoration work begins on Luna Cafe sign

Restoration work on the vintage neon sign at the Luna Cafe in Mitchell, Ill., began Thursday when it was removed and taken to a restoration shop in St. Charles, Mo.

Jim Thole of the Route 66 Association of Missouri says it will take six to eight weeks to restore the sign. He thinks a relighting ceremony will be scheduled in mid-October.

The Luna Cafe received an $11,000 cost-share grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program to restore the sign. Here’s what the program said about the business and the sign:

The Luna Cafe in Mitchell, Illinois was built in 1926, the same year Route 66 was commissioned as a highway. With over 85 years of continuous service, the Luna has reportedly had many famous visitors including Al Capone, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Sr., and Ike & Tina Turner. Local memory recalls it serving variously as a Route 66 cafe, piano bar, boarding house, brothel, upscale restaurant, and meeting spot for gangsters. The neon sign with its iconic ruby red cherries lit up the night for over 40 years before going dark in the 1990s. The Missouri and Illinois Route 66 Associations are partnering with the owner of the Luna to oversee the restoration of the sign.

Back in the old days, the red cherries in the martini glass reputedly were lighted only when the “working girls” in the brothel were, ahem, available for business.

(Photos courtesy of Jim Thole)

8 thoughts on “Restoration work begins on Luna Cafe sign

    1. Rich, be sure to contact me or one of the Illinois Assn officers about the final date for the re-lighting celebration — we would like to see you there — consider this a personal invitation. Thanks for your comment, Jim Thole.

  1. That’s nice. All the years going by the place with the sign sitting cold. Now it will be brought back to its famous glory and notority.

    Secondly it nice seeing two state 66 associations working together on it. Be a good example of things to follow hopfully in the future for all of Route 66.

    Rich, Big Red and rest at Henrys Ra66it Ranch

    1. Rich, thanks for taking the time to add your comment. I am particularly gratified by your observation in the second paragragh — about the two states working together. For me this was a very special, inviting attribute of this project — another way for our two states to continue their excellent working relationship in a very concrete and visible manner that demonstrates what unity can accomplish. Hopefully others will take note of this project’s unique feature as well, as you have already said, and let it (and the new neon) “be a guiding light.”

  2. I’m so pleased to see this! The Luna remains one of my favorites memories of the one short trip I’ve taken, from Chicago to just past St. Louis. When I do the whole thing next year, I’m looking forward to stopping by the Luna Cafe again!

    1. Ms. Riches …..thanks for leaving your comment. The Luna Cafe sign is a favorite of many people. It is very common for groups of roadies to stop and take pictures of it. Soon they will able to do that at night under the glow of the neon. Let us know when you plan to come by next time …… “we’ll leave the light on for ya!”

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