8 Illinois Restaurant Chains That Closed For Good (And Nobody’s Losing Sleep Over It)
Remember those mediocre eateries that once dotted Illinois streetscapes? The ones with questionable food quality and even more suspect service?
Well, they’re gone now, and frankly, I’m not shedding any tears. As someone who’s eaten my way across the Prairie State for decades, I’ve witnessed the rise and fall of countless dining establishments.
These eight restaurant chains once had their moment in the Illinois sun, but their lights have dimmed forever—and we’re all better off for it.
1. Meatheads Burgers & Fries: All Sizzle, No Substance
Burger joints should nail one thing perfectly: the burger. Meatheads somehow missed this memo. Their patties always had that odd, not-quite-fresh taste that lingered hours after eating.
I remember taking my nephew there after his baseball game, convinced the ‘premium’ ingredients would justify the hefty price tag. We both left disappointed and $30 poorer. The fries turned soggy before we even finished our meal!
While they marketed themselves as the gourmet alternative to fast food chains, Meatheads delivered neither the speed of fast food nor the quality of a genuine gourmet experience. Just another forgettable entry in the overcrowded burger market.
2. Sandy’s: The Forgotten Fast Food Pioneer
Bright orange roofs once signaled Sandy’s locations across Illinois, but this fast-food forerunner faded into obscurity without much fanfare. My grandpa used to reminisce about their 19-cent hamburgers like they were culinary masterpieces.
When I finally tried one during their twilight years in the early 70s, I discovered the truth: bland patties on stale buns with wilted lettuce. Nothing special whatsoever!
Sandy’s ultimately couldn’t compete with the marketing muscle of McDonald’s and Burger King. Most locations were converted to Hardee’s restaurants, erasing nearly all traces of this underwhelming chain from our collective memory—and honestly, that’s perfectly fine with me.
3. Henry’s Hamburgers: Quantity Over Quality
Flash-frozen patties slapped between mass-produced buns hardly constitutes a culinary achievement, yet Henry’s Hamburgers built their entire identity around this uninspired formula. The chain once boasted over 200 locations nationwide!
Growing up in Champaign, my friends considered Henry’s the perfect after-school pit stop. I never understood the appeal. Their signature move—cooking patties on an assembly line conveyor belt—resulted in burgers that tasted exactly the same: uniformly mediocre.
Henry’s rapid expansion proved unsustainable as competitors offered better food at similar prices. Their last Illinois location shuttered decades ago, taking their forgettable flavor profile with them. No tears were shed.
4. Geri’s Hamburgers: The Copycat That Couldn’t
Bold red letters spelling G-E-R-I-S once beckoned hungry travelers across Illinois highways. Founded by a former McDonald’s employee, Geri’s attempted to capitalize on the growing fast-food craze with nearly identical offerings but none of the quality control.
My first Geri’s experience came during a road trip to Springfield in the 80s. The burger arrived lukewarm, the cheese unmelted, and the fries practically raw in the center. Never again!
Their menu remained frozen in time while competitors evolved, ultimately sealing their fate. Geri’s final Illinois location disappeared quietly, leaving behind only faded photos and memories of mediocre meals best forgotten.
5. Rax Roast Beef: Arby’s Forgettable Cousin
Lukewarm roast beef sandwiches swimming in mysterious sauce defined the Rax experience. This Arby’s wannabe somehow managed to take an already questionable concept and make it even less appealing.
The salad bar—their supposed claim to fame—featured wilted lettuce and dressings of questionable freshness. I made the mistake of eating there during a Bloomington business trip in the 90s and spent the next day regretting every bite.
Rax attempted to diversify with pasta and baked potatoes while competitors focused on perfecting core offerings. This identity crisis accelerated their downfall. Once boasting dozens of Illinois locations, Rax completely vanished from the state landscape, and absolutely nobody misses them.
6. My Pi: Pizza Pretentiousness Gone Wrong
Charging premium prices for mediocre deep dish created My Pi’s reputation as the place where tourists went when they couldn’t get into Giordano’s or Lou Malnati’s. Their sauce tasted suspiciously like it came straight from a can.
During college, my roommate worked there briefly and shared horror stories about food storage practices that would make health inspectors weep. The cheese—supposedly their “special blend”—was actually just standard food service mozzarella with artificial coloring!
Despite marketing themselves as authentic Chicago-style pizza pioneers, locals knew better. My Pi’s attempt to capitalize on Chicago’s pizza fame without delivering comparable quality ultimately led to their downfall. Their closure left zero culinary void in Illinois’ rich pizza landscape.
7. Foxtrot: Overpriced Convenience Masquerading as Luxury
Whoever decided we needed a “premium” convenience store charging triple for basic groceries clearly misjudged Illinois shoppers. Foxtrot’s entire business model seemed built around convincing people that paying $8 for a pint of ice cream somehow made it taste better.
Their prepared foods section offered sad, plastic-wrapped sandwiches that wouldn’t pass muster at a gas station. Yet they displayed them like gourmet creations! My coworker dragged me there for lunch once, insisting their “artisanal” coffee would change my life.
Spoiler alert: it tasted exactly like regular coffee, just at twice the price. Foxtrot’s closure proves that even trendy minimalist design can’t save a business built on overpriced basics. Good riddance to this grocery-café pretender.
8. Arby’s: The Franchisee Failure
Not all Arby’s locations closed—just those run by a particular Illinois franchisee who couldn’t maintain even the modest standards of a chain famous for processed meat mountains. These locations stood out for all the wrong reasons.
Walking into one of these Arby’s felt like stepping into a time machine to 1985. Sticky floors, burned-out lighting, and employees who looked like they’d rather be anywhere else. I stopped at one off I-55 last year and found half the menu unavailable and the bathroom “temporarily closed” (the handwritten sign looked months old).
While the Arby’s brand continues elsewhere, nobody mourns these particular Illinois locations. Their sudden closure simply spared us from more disappointing drive-thru experiences and questionable roast beef.