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Monical's Pizza / 1st Steak & Shake

1219 Main St., Normal, IL
Phone:

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Today Monical's Pizza occupies the site of the first Steak & Shake Drive-In Restaurant which grew out of the Shell Inn in the mid-1930s. The Shell Inn was a combination Shell Gas station and restaurant owned by A. H. "Gus" Belt and his wife Edith.

GPS: 40.498133, -88.994932

The Shell Inn dates to at least 1931 as a fish and chicken place. By the mid 30s the restaurant had changed to focus on Steak Hamburgers ("Ground Sirloin") and Jumbo Shakes ("4 Dips - Richer, Thicker and Colder"). The burgers and the shakes both started out at 10 cents each.

A. H. "Gus" Belt died in 1954 and Edith Belt ran the business until selling it in 1968. Several sales later the property was sold to Monical's in 1999 when became a Pizza Restaurant that is still there in 2023.

See the restaurant? If it wasn't for the huge sign above the trees you'd drive right by the place before you knew it was there. This photo is on the corner of Main and W. Virginia. The op photo on this page is S. Center Street.

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