Last November I traveled to Lacon, Illinois and visited some businesses and kind of took a snapshot of that town all in one blog post. I thought it would be fun to do this every six weeks or so and today I’ve decided to go to Tremont, Illinois and take a look around. It’s mainly known for the Tremont Turkey Festival, but I bet there’s more than that to Tremont. Let’s get in the MBIP Mobile, point it towards Tremont and see what happens!
Okay, we’re off on our way to Tremont, when I left the MBIP World Headquarters it was 12:01 PM...
And here we are in Tremont, Illinois and it’s 12:30PM on the dot. A short 29 minute drive from Peoria. The first stop is this ice cream stand called, “Pinky’s.” It’s closed now, but I still wanted to get a shot of the sign. I just got that, so let’s move on down the road. We'll have to come back here this summer.
This is Sampson Street, which is kind of the main drag in Tremont. I’ve parked, so now let’s wander around and see if we can meet some local Tremont folks.
Joy’s Barber Shop looks like a good place to start. Let’s go in here and see what’s happening.
Two chairs, no waiting! I’m willing to bet that that’s Joy standing attention back there wondering what the hell a stranger is doing taking pictures in her barber shop.
Yes, I was right, that’s Joy and this is her barber shop. She told me she’s been cutting hair in this location for the last 36 years here in Tremont. And also notice the unplanned obligatory mirror shot going on in the photo! I love it when that happens! Great to meet Joy, the first Tremont local of this post.
Check out this grocery store, Beecham’s Market. It looks like a grocery store from the ‘60’s!
I love it in here! What a nice change of place from those huge impersonal big box grocery stores that you need a GPS to find your way around in. There’s just three aisles in here and all the staples one person could need.
There’s a few more aisles in here, but it pretty much looks the same as it did back in the opening days when this photo was taken.
Here’s Lanny, who’s the former owner, standing in front of what he told me really drives the place, their meat counter. They have choice grades of meat, all locally produced and people come in from all over to buy the select cuts in here. Lanny said this store opened in Tremont in 1936. He took it over from his father and now his daughter and son-in-law run the store
Lanny’s father got into the grocery business in Glasford, Illinois before opening this store in Tremont in 1939 and this is a complimentary butcher apron from that era and location.
Even the meat sticks are locally sourced, they’re made in Galesburg. I picked the spicy one for later tonight when I’m drinking beer.
They have lots of rubs and spices for the meats here and check the one second from the end on the right side, it's Butch’s seasoning...deja vu!
Angie was at the register and rang up my beef stick. That doesn’t sound quite right, but let’s not dwell on that and just keep moving along.
Let’s check out this pharmacy...
Just like Beecham’s, It too feels like a throw back to the old days in here, nothing fancy, just your every day drug needs.
This is Russ and Tricia. Tricia explained that while they don’t fill prescriptions, they can get them filled in Mackinaw via a Skype connection that Russ is in charge of. So if you need a prescription in Tremont, you can get it filled here and they’ll even deliver it to you. Such a deal!
Down the road I found this photo studio, it looks really cool, let’s go in and take a look, shall we?
Wow, this is really a nice space.
I love the lit-up gold tin ceiling in here!
This is Elsie who’s the owner of this studio called, Signature Photos. Elsie specializes in wedding and portrait photography. You can check out her work here and here’s her facecrack page. It was nice chatting with Elsie about photography and blogging, that’s what’s fun about these trips, meeting and talking with folks you never would’ve ever met without doing this.
Here’s a shot from the back of the room. I love the wooden floor and brick wall. It reminded me of an arty loft space in New York.
And suddenly...The Tremont Library!
Wow it’s big in here and there’s a children’s section in the back.
Maria and Angie were on duty and said I could snap some photos in here. I promised to be quiet! Sssshh!
Free magazines!
They have a state of the art computer set up in the middle of the library, very impressive!
Down the road I stumbled upon the Tremont Museum and I swear I’m not drinking. I’m just very clumsy.
I was intrigued as to what was in here, I was hoping for dancing mutant turtles and shellacked iguanas on display, but sadly they have very limited hours. Oh well, a good excuse to come back to Tremont!
By now I am starvin’ like you know who, so let’s stop in at a place in Tremont that’s very familiar to MBIP, Perdue’s Bar and Grill. We’ve stopped here on the tenderloin tour and then they were week number 45 on the pizza tour.
There's seats at the bar, so let's snag one and get some lunch.
Here's my view of the back of the bar from where I'm seated. Damn, I forgot to bring a bottle opener for the post in the middle of the bar. I have to remember that next time! I have a good memory, I just forget to use it.
Here's Nicole serving up an iced tea. It turns out that Nicole interned for the PJ Star a while back and knows MBIP pals, Terry Towery, Matt Buedel, Phil Luciano and Steve Tarter. I think we all know what has to be cued up right here and now!
I was so hungry I started eating and almost forgot I had to take a picture of today's lunch! These are the spicy chicken wings, which like everything I've had here are really tasty and delicious. Note I used a drumstick to hide the small pile of bones from the already eaten wings.
I had to get an order of the onion rings that MBIP pal and Contributor, Scott Turley got last time we were here on a pizza mission. These are the best onion rings around town and the ancho chipotle dipping sauce is homemade and adds a nice kick to the onion rings.
After lunch I met the owner of this fine establishment, Tim Perdue down here at the end of the bar. Tim told me things are going great with Perdue's and they are coming up on their 5th year anniversary which they''re going to celebrate this summer. Tim recently opened up Diesel Dick's bar here in Tremont and we'll be checking that out soon, stay tuned for that!
Here's The Tremont Depot, which is an actual train depot from days gone by, now it's been turned into a strip mall.
There's an Eli's coffee shop here at the front of the depot.
Down at the other end is the Tremont Gallery, let's take a gander in here.
As you can see from the massive front counter, they have a large and varied inventory of items in here.
There's jewelry, books, lamps, knick-knacks, paddy-whacks and probably even a bone to give your dog when all is said and done.
Simply Sweet Cakes and Bakery. I think we have room for a little dessert, let's check this place out.
Wow, it looks like a Prince song in here!
This is Mike who owns the bakery along with his wife, Cheri. They've been in operation for about a year and Mike says business is great. You can check out their facecrack page right here. The specialty here is cupcakes and they have 28 varieties all made fresh here in the bakery. Some of the flavors include: Death by Chocolate, Lemon Berry, White Wedding and...
Turtle! I have to try this out in honor of Bill Molleck!
Wow! This is so good and tasty! What a sweet way to end this tour! Thanks to everyone in Tremont for being so friendly and hospitable! You should go and check this town out, it's just 29 minutes from Peoria, after all! We'll see you all tomorrow!
Tremont, Illinois—Official Website
Related Post: 27 Minutes To Lacon.
Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!
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Bonus Tremont Movie Poster Art by Jaws the Cabbie
Jaws the Cabbie was inspired by the title of this post to work up this movie poster of the same name! Ha! That’s one of your best, so far, Jaws! Thanks!
