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Dixie Travel Plaza

Name: Dixie Travel Plaza
Address: McLean, IL, US

Diner & restaurant
In McLean, Illinois
0.1 mi from Route 66

The Dixie Travel Plaza in McLean, IL, is a large truck stop and travel center beside Interstate 55. It started in 1928 as a sandwich counter inside a truck repair garage on the old Route 66 and became a full restaurant within a couple of years. Once called the Dixie Truck Stop and the Dixie Trucker's Home, it is a regular name in Route 66 travel books and a handy meal stop in central Illinois.

What is Dixie Travel Plaza?

This is a travel plaza built for truckers and road travelers alike, with a restaurant at its core. The stretch of Route 66 it was built on later became part of I-55, so the plaza now serves interstate traffic while keeping its old-road history.

History of Dixie Travel Plaza

John Geske and J.P. Walters founded it in 1928. Demand grew fast, and by 1930 the sandwich stand had become a full restaurant. It was enlarged several times and rebuilt after a fire in 1965. In 1990 the Illinois Route 66 association inducted Walters, Geske and the Dixie into its hall of fame, and the plaza housed the state's Route 66 Hall of Fame until a change of owners in 2003, when the display moved to Pontiac.

Visiting Dixie Travel Plaza: tips

It sits by the interstate, a short hop from the old road, which makes it an easy meal break on a day crossing central Illinois. Allow about 45 minutes for a meal. The Downey Building, a retro roadside stop, is about 4.8 miles away.