THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Chad David and fiancee Michelle Smith are the new co-owners of The Frostop after buying it from the Riggen family, who had operated it since 1960, about ten years after it first opened. (Jennifer Bailey/The News-Gazette)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is 11th in our 12-story road-trip series looking at the people and places along Illinois 1 — from Watseka to Paris.
CHRISMAN — When you see the big root beer mug on Illinois 1, you know you’re approaching a historic Americana drive-in restaurant.
While the Chrisman Frostop is not yet open for the season, new owners Chad David and fiancée Michelle Smith plan to reopen it soon. They don’t have a definitive date but are hoping to be serving within the next few weeks.
It’s been a local landmark since the 1950s and had been owned by the Riggen family since around 1960.
Tiffany Tarter, a granddaughter of the original owners, said her grandparents passed it down to her dad and aunt, who typically kept the business open between mid-to-late March (depending on weather) to October.
“My dad for health reasons had to stop working, and for the same reason, my aunt decided that she could no longer work,” Tarter said. “We put it up for sale at the beginning of December hoping a local family might buy it and carry on the traditions.
FOR MORE FROM THIS STORY PLEASE GO TO https://www.news-gazette.com/business/restaurants/having-fun-on-illinois-1-chrismans-historic-root-beer-stand-to-reopen-year-round-under/article_bd5f3173-5cf8-43cc-9f6c-92be11364908.html
