Rockin’ Down the DBH: The Polk-A-Dot Drive-In

Head on down to Braidwood, Illinois to find the iconic Polk-A-Dot Drive-In on 66. Since the beginning, this roadside cafe has been like a shrine to mid 20th-century music and culture. 

ID 99077880 | Polk Dot Drive © StockPhotoAstur | Dreamstime.com
Here’s how it got started: 1956 was a flourishing time for many businesses along the Mother Road. President Eisenhower approved the Federal-Aid Highway Act in that same year, launching the nationwide interstate system. With 41,000 miles of new highway came increased travel and a demand for businesses along the way.

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Braidwood resident Chester ‘Chet’ Fife decided to open a cafe to meet this demand by converting an old school bus into a food stand that motorists could easily access. Next, he and his sister, Sylvia, painted the bus with colorful polk-a-dots to attract the attention of travelers. Thus, The Polk-A-Dot Drive-In was born.

By 1962, Fife upgraded his business by moving out of the bus and into a building. The new location remains, as the home of the Polk-A-Dot Drive-In, to this day. 

ID 231101275 | Drive © Jon Bilous | Dreamstime.com
Why has the Polk-A-Dot stood the test of time, while so many other businesses along Route 66 have failed? For one, it’s their classic menu and affordable pricing. Where else can you get a hamburger and fries for under $10.00 in this economy?

Secondly, their dedication to and preservation of 1950’s Americana is surpassed by none. Tourists come from all over the country to eat in this retro-fitted diner. The walls are dense with Elvis memorabilia, classic film posters, 66 souvenirs, and automobile depictions. Neon signs, a checkerboard floor, the Route 66 gum ball machine, and jukeboxes at each table bring you back to the good old days. 

However, I still think it’s the bathrooms that really sell the place … The women’s room is covered with Elvis posters and photographs, while the men’s room is like a temple to Marilyn Monroe.    

Patty Kuhn, Copyrighted free use, via Wikimedia Commons
Famously, the Polk-A-Dot is also home to an outdoor collection of fiberglass statues. Life-sized figures of cultural giants like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Boop, James Dean, and even the Blues Brothers are there to greet you in the parking lot.

National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Interestingly, there is a McDonald’s just across the road from the Polk-A-Dot Drive-In, but I think your choice in Braidwood in a no-brainer. Grab your camera, some of their famous chili-cheese fries, and a vanilla shake the next time you’re traveling through.

ID 103242477 © StockPhotoAstur | Dreamstime.com

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