I’ve been meaning to stop in and do a blog from both Cobbler’s Corner and Roxy’s Lanes in Pekin for the longest time now! I used to go and eat breakfast at Cobbler’s Corner after turning in an article to the Pekin Daily Times back when I was freelance writing for them in the early ‘90’s and I haven’t been back since and thought it might be fun to go check that diner out over twenty-five years later!. I tried to stop in at Roxy’s Lanes almost three years ago and it was closed. Tonight we’ll try to kill two stones with one bird...or something like that...to the MBIP Mobile!
One of the sad and scary facts about driving to Pekin is that you have to cross this damned bridge and I hate driving over bridges! After a white-knuckle trip over the bridge we’re back on track and there’s Cobbler Corner over there on the corner. That makes perfect sense! And before we go in, let’s all take a second to enjoy the unplanned obligatory mirror shot on the front door! Okay enough of that, let’s go in now!
Wow, it hasn’t changed a bit and that’s a good thing! Nice to see some things remaining the same! And there’s our waitress, Mary looking very cute while giving us the thumbs up sign to sit wherever we want, so I chose this booth and Mary brought some iced tea while I perused the menu. As you can see there’s lots of choices to be had! I decided to start out with...
A cup of the soup of the day and a side of cole slaw. The soup was creamy chicken rice and it was homemade and really delicious. It had chunks of chicken and vegetables swimming in the rich and creamy rice broth, very tasty! And they gave me five packs of crackers, which I appreciate because I love crackers in my soup! The cole slaw was really tasty too, it had a creamy base with equal flavors of tart and sweetness coming through. I probably could’ve stopped there, as these two starters were really filling but...
I went ahead and got the patty melt and I’m glad I did! It was served on toasted and buttered rye bread and I added a healthy dollop of mustard to the burger, melted American cheese and fried onions. The sandwich was great and it’s a classic diner dish. And speaking of dishes, as you can see from the bottom photo, I made quick time of this sandwich!
After dinner I went back and thanked the chef Jason for a wonderful meal and then Mary cashed me out. I love her dimples by the way! It was cool to come back here and see things are just the same and it’s a classic diner with a very friendly atmosphere, I promise it won’t be another 25 years till I come back!
Okay, now that we’ve had dinner, it’s off to our next stop in Pekin, Roxy’s Lanes! As we head over there we have a Pekin Daily Times flashback moment and then a few blocks later here we are turning into Roxy’s parking lot. Let’s park and take a look at this place.
Wow, this is such a classic looking building for a bowling alley! I love the half circle design to the top structure of the building and the sign and lettering are classic! Let’s go in and take a look around in Roxy’s!
There’s the hallway to the bowling alley, but what’s that off to the right...oh, it’s the bar! Well, I think we should stop there first and I know you agree! Inside I met Brad behind the bar serving up an ice-cold bottle of beer! Brad’s worked here since he was 16-years-old, so he knows the place like the back of his hand! Down at the end of the bar I met Greg and Dan, two really nice guys. Dan also works here and Greg has been coming here since he was a kid back in 1965! As you can see, there’s a nice cocktail lounge directly behind the bar with tables, gaming machines, a pool table and state of the art dart machines. I asked the guys how long Roxy’s has been in business in Pekin and they all had different ideas, so Brad called Roxy's historian, Dillard Clark who told him that Roxy’s has been operating in this spot in Pekin since 1963, making it one of the oldest bowling alleys in the area. The current owner is Chuck Geier, who’s owned Roxy’s since 1989 and he started working here in 1976! Lots of history in this building for sure, let’s go take a look at the bowling lanes!
Brad let me get a close-up shot of the lanes with the Roxy’s logo displayed over them. Then I went back and got some shots of the lanes from the back of the bowling alley. I love this place because it’s got a vintage look and feel to it, yet the place is set up with all the latest in modern technology and scoring machines.
We all know that it takes balls to bowl and there’s a nice selection of them here at Roxy’s!
Brad told me on weekends they have a light show here in the bowling alley and he gave me a little preview of that, very cool!
Next he took me back behind the lanes to show me the automatic pin set machine in action! I’ve never seen this before and it was cool to get this behind the scenes look at how things run in the back of the bowling alley!
There’s a game room off to the side with lots of fun arcade games and there’s also lots of gumball machines and I have to admit I was a little obsessed with the Fuzzy Face Moustache machine!
They have signs in the bowling alley celebrating the high scores and there’s Brad on the board with the highest average! Brad also told me he recently bowled a perfect 300 game and let’s go back to the bar to see a memento he got from that game...
Here’s Nicole with Brad’s official-sanctioned 300 game ring! He had it re-sized and gave it to Nicole to wear...does this mean there’s a wedding coming up here in Roxy’s? Well, you’ll just have to stay tuned for that!
Since Brad and Nicole were showing off the 300 game ring, I thought I’d bust out my moustache I got at the Fuzzy Moustache machine—I told you I was obsessed with that! Check it out, it matches my blond highlights! I love it when things work out like this!
This was really a fun night at Roxy’s! Brad told me that the summer time is a little bit of a slow period for the bowling alley, but he invited me to come back in September when the leagues and bowlers are in full swing here and the bar is not only serving up drinks, but they're also cooking up their famous half pound cheeseburgers and Philly Steak sandwiches for the hungry bowlers! I’ll definitely be back in September to check that out and thanks to Brad, Dan, Greg and Nicole for a fun night at Roxy’s! I had a blast!
You’re welcome and it was my pleasure! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Cobbler Corner
1534 N. 8th Street
Pekin, Ilinois
309-347-2666
Roxy's Lanes
114 N. 3rd Street
Pekin, Ilinois
309-346-6333
Related Posts: Pottsie’s Place (Originally headed for Maurie’s Candies and then Roxy’s Bowling Lanes...Sheesh!), Pekin Daily Times: Looking Forwards and Backwards and Graffiti Love At Maurie’s Fine Candies of Pekin!