The landmark Original White Fence Farm Restaurant along Route 66 in Romeoville, Illinois, earlier this month began its 70th year in business under the Hastert family, though its roots go back about a century.
The original restaurant at 1376 Joliet Road (aka Route 66) and its three other locations in the Chicagoland area closed for a few weeks during the winter, mainly in January, for remodeling and deep cleaning, according to the eatery’s Facebook page.
Here’s a Chicago-area television ad from 1983:
White Fence Farm has managed to survive a lot over the decades, including the COVID-19 pandemic that caused it to lose $2.4 million in one year. It stayed afloat with takeout orders and federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Stuyvesant “Jack” Peabody, CEO of Peabody Coal, founded White Fence Farm was founded at its original location in the early 1920s, a few years before U.S. 66 was federally certified.
Since 1954, the restaurant has been owned and operated by the Hastert family.
White Fence Farm not only is famous for its fried chicken, but its petting zoo and its museum of antique cars and other memorabilia.
(Image of White Fence Farm in Romeoville, Illinois, via Facebook)