Route 66 marked its 100th anniversary this year, and tucked along the old highway in Litchfield, Illinois, the Ariston Cafe has been marking time right along with it. Open since 1924, it holds the title of oldest continuously operating restaurant on the Mother Road. Founder Pete Adams, a Greek immigrant, originally ran a candy store in Carlinville, but when Route 66 was built through Litchfield, he moved the business to where the action was. His son Nick then ran the cafe for an incredible fifty to sixty years.
When current co-owner Will Law and his partners bought the Ariston, they made a deliberate choice: change nothing. That decision keeps the character intact, and it’s why European travelers touring Route 66 stop in from March through October to experience a slice of classic Americana. But the real story lives with the regulars. Pat Schwab, 84, has been eating at the Ariston since before 1950, and she meets up there monthly with her group, the Maxines.
Every community has a place like this, the spot where generations overlap and nobody’s in a hurry. For Litchfield, it’s the Ariston. For the Suncoast, it might be a diner in Venice, a seafood shack on Anna Maria, or a counter in Bradenton where the same crew has held court for decades. Is there a restaurant in your neighborhood that you think could last a hundred years? Tell us about it.
