Pig Hip restaurant Ruins

Phone:

East < GO > West

Ernie & Fran Edwards operated the Pig Hip from 1937 to 1991. The restaurant burned down in 2007. In August 2012 a new sign was dedicated at the site of the restaurant. After they closed the restaurant and before the fire Ernie had turned the place into a museum of his life and times on Route 66.

But wait! How does someone get the idea to name their restaurant the "Pig Hip"? Apparently one names the place after the part of the pig that one prefers to make sandwiches out of.

There is also a plaque on a rock telling the story of the restaurant. You might have to look a bit to find the plaque, it was partially hidden by some tall grass when we were there. Ernie Edwards was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Association Hall of Fame in 1990.

The Edwards' home next to the restaurant site has a large "E" on the chimney. There used to be a huge "RESTAURANT" sign above the roof ridge on the house. Ernie's sister and husband built some cabins which became the Pioneer Rest Motel. Ernie's brother had built a gas station between the restaurant and the house.

Photo(s): 2015