Papa's Restaurant (Demolished)
IN
Photo courtesy Emily Steele

Check out the roofline on Papa's Restaurant in Indianapolis. The steep A-frame design made this place hard to miss, and it looked every bit like the neighborhood pancake house you'd hope to find on a weekend morning. The restaurant had been serving customers since at least 1971. 03-07

Known locally as Papa's Pancake House, the restaurant built a loyal following with hearty breakfasts, generous portions, and prices that kept people coming back. Pancakes were the obvious favorite, but the corned beef hash and creamed chipped beef were just as popular with the regulars.

The distinctive building was every bit as memorable as the food. Its chalet-style roof gave it plenty of personality and made it stand out from the surrounding businesses. It's a shame buildings like this have become so uncommon.

UPDATE: The restaurant has closed, and both the building and its roadside sign have been demolished. A Bank of America now occupies the site. 07-26

Sharkey's Bar and Restaurant (Gone)
IN
Photo and info courtesy Emily Steele

Indiana was also home to Sharkey's Bar and Restaurant, a neighborhood spot along Pendleton Pike that looked like the kind of place where locals gathered to catch a game and grab a bite to eat. When this photo was taken, it appeared the business may have already closed. 03-07

Sharkey's served up casual American fare along with plenty of cold drinks, and its roadside sign made it easy to spot from the busy highway. It shared the same stretch of road as other longtime Indianapolis favorites like Papa's Pancake House and The Sandwich Machine, giving the area a nice collection of classic roadside eateries.

Unfortunately, like many independent neighborhood restaurants, Sharkey's eventually faded away, taking another familiar roadside sign with it.

UPDATE: Sharkey's Bar and Restaurant is no longer in business. The roadside sign has been removed, and the property no longer reflects its days as a neighborhood restaurant and bar. 07-26

Evergreen Cocktail Room (Demolished)
Evergreen Park, IL
Photo and info courtesy Bruce R. Cassi / 1995

The Evergreen Cocktail Room was located on the grounds of the Evergreen Country Club in Evergreen Park, Illinois. By the time this photo was taken in 1995, the restaurant had already burned down, but the old sign was still standing along the road. Although it hadn't lit up in years, it was still an interesting reminder of what once stood here. 04-07

The Cocktail Room was part of the village golf course and served golfers and local residents for many years before the building was destroyed by fire in the early 1990s. Even after the restaurant was gone, the vintage roadside sign remained in place, making it a familiar sight for anyone driving down Western Avenue.

It's a shame the sign didn't survive. It would have made a nice reminder of the old country club.

UPDATE: The sign was removed in 2002, and the former country club property has since been redeveloped into community recreational facilities. 07-26

Fielos Restaurant (Gone)
Chicago, IL
Photo and info courtesy Bruce R. Cassi / 1990

Ask Chicago-area neon enthusiasts about their favorite sign, and there's a good chance Fielos Restaurant will come up. Standing more than 25 feet tall along Western Avenue, this impressive double-sided marquee was hard to miss. Look closely and you'll even spot the maintenance ladder beneath the letter "F," along with ladder rungs running up the left side of the word "Restaurant." It's details like these that made the sign so memorable. 06-07

Over the years the restaurant changed hands several times, but the towering neon marquee remained a familiar sight for motorists traveling Western Avenue. It was the kind of sign that gave the street plenty of character and became just as well known as the business itself.

It's a shame the sign didn't survive. It was one of Chicago's best roadside neon displays.

UPDATE: The famous neon sign was removed in 2005, and the restaurant now operates under a different name. 07-26

Plaza 30 Truck Stop (Rem.)
Wanatah, IN
Photo and info courtesy Alan Culley

The Plaza 30 Truck Stop in Wanatah, Indiana has seen better days. When this photo was taken, the old roadside sign had already lost its neon tubing and had been painted over, leaving only a hint of what it once looked like. 07-07

The truck stop began life as Koch's Truckstop before eventually becoming Plaza 30. Located along busy U.S. 30, it served generations of truck drivers and travelers stopping for fuel, a meal, or a break from the road.

While the original sign has lost much of its character, its size and design still hint at an earlier era when truck stops often featured custom-built neon to attract passing motorists.

UPDATE: The truck stop is still in business, operating today as a Marathon-branded travel center. The original sign structure remains, but the neon has been removed and the sign has been repurposed with modern branding. 07-26