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Cranwill's Rootbeer Stand/ Drive In

3.1 (27 reviews)
InexpensiveBurgers, Hot Dogs, Desserts
Closed • 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

Cranwill's Rootbeer Stand/ Drive In Photos

Business Info

CRANWILL'S ROOTBEER STAND/ DRIVE IN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Dogs allowed
Happy hour specials
Outdoor seating
Good for groups

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Joshua D.

Review Visit: Cranwill's? More like Cranwon't. On the eve of my epic two week trip through Canada/USA, my dad and I stopped in to Cranwill's for some food and snacks. This place was hyped up by a ton of people I know from Pekin. Not just Pekinites but people from the area. So, I had to assume the hype was worth the drive out there. Much to my disappointment, it was not. My father and I rolled up during a busy afternoon. The place, for it's seemingly random location (I am not 100% familiar with Pekin), had a good number of people placing their orders and eating their food. Cranwill's is similar to Sonic in that it offers the ability to drive up, park, order your food all from the comfort of your car. My dad and I eschewed that and decided to place an order inside. Now, that is something I don't think Sonic offers. Indoor seating. We popped a seat on a stool at the counter and looked over the menu. I wasn't the hungriest in the world, so I ordered a simple chili dog and a vanilla ice cream sundae with a strawberry syrup drizzle. My dad ordered just a vanilla sundae as he was craving something sweet. The teen behind the bar was hustling to keep up with our orders and everyone else. The guy earned his pay that day with how he was busting butt. When my chili dog came out, I was excited. At the time, I just learned about the wonders of the Coney dog. My order may have come with onions, but I don't 100% remember so I don't want to say for sure. I unwrapped the dog and sank my fangs in and I realized instantly that looks are deceiving. Admittedly, chili dogs can be messy. Chili dogs will spill out and get on your plate. But the one I had was too runny yet also thick. My mouth and mind were confused. The bun was soaked through fairly quick and choking down the rest of the dog was more a chore than a pleasure. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my sundae close to me and hoped that it wouldn't betray me either. It looked good. I love strawberry-flavored things. How can you mess up ice cream? Well, you can. Strawberries are a fruit that has a short window of when they are perfect. A little before or a little after that time and the balance between sweet and still edible is thrown off. On this day, I must've gotten strawberries that fell on the 'too late' side of that spectrum. They just tasted off. It's been 5 years (as of the writing of this post) and I never figured out in that time what was off about them. Maybe they were frozen and then thawed out? I don't know. Surely the strawberry drizzle might save the day. Again, no. It was a very runny syrup and while it had the flavor down, the excessive wateriness of it did not mix well with the ice cream or strawberry chunks. I can say that the vanilla ice cream and cone itself were pretty decent. Not a home run but it was the one nice thing that I was able to enjoy at Cranwill's, aside from hanging with my dad that is. It was a very miserable experience overall. I know my dad was feeling 'meh' about his sundae as well. Not to say that we have high tastes or anything like that because we don't. It just wasn't great. But, you run in to that if you do go out and travel. Some places are great. Some are awful. Some fall in-between. That's what makes exploring so exciting. You just never know what you will experience. I am a firm believer in second chances and would love to revisit Cranwill's to see if things have changed or if we had just an off day. I would love to try out the park-n-order option they offer the next time I come here. Should I get to retry this place, I will make up a new blog or update this one accordingly. Cranwill's has been a staple in Pekin for a long time, so there has to be something positive about that place.

Stopped at Cranwells in our new old Model A for rootbeer and memories.

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5 years ago

Good food, slowest service in town. Lots of kids inside talking and I saw my food sit on the counter for almost 10 minutes

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8 years ago

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9 years ago

Great food, served fast! I had the walleye basket, very good stuff. I'm so glad they are open again.

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7 years ago

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14 years ago

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13 years ago

Drive in style diner. I had their signature burger and fries and home made root beer. It was all good.

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8 years ago

I have always loved cranwills and have been going there for 30 plus years! Nothing is better than a family owned restaurant

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The Sweet Bean Coffee & Treats

The Sweet Bean Coffee & Treats

5.0(6 reviews)
1.2 mi

How sweet it is!…read more Let's preface this blog post by saying that The Sweet Bean is set to close on May 13th. Not only did I recently hear about this place for the first time but in the same breath I heard they were closing. So, I knew it was a high priority to check it out. It just so happens that my girlfriend also loves coffee and sweet treats, so we booked it there the first chance we got. I'm not too familiar with the inner workings of how Pekin is laid out so I never would've stumbled upon this place without either being told about it or finding it on Yelp/Google/other sources of information. Thank gosh for GPS We arrived in the later part of the morning once we woke up and got moving for the day. We both were in need of some coffee and something to put in our bellies. Upon entering, we were greeted by a friendly person behind the counter who ended up being the owner. She asked us what the photo taking out front was about and I briefly mentioned how I like to try out local coffee places. She said they only have the basic coffee choices as they are more of a bakery and I said that as long as you serve coffee, that is good enough for me. Emily got a flavored cold brew and a giant turtle cookie and I got a plain cold brew and a dark chocolate cherry... scone? I'm not 100% sure it was a scone. I just pointed at what I wanted and she told me what it was but was too distracted by all the delicious-looking treats in the display case to remember what she said. The total for two 16 ounce drinks and two baked goods was only $13. That is a really good deal, imo. We snagged a table and sat there, sipping our coffees and trying each other's snack. Emily was jealous of my treat and I was a bit jealous of her treat. They were both super delicious and I am glad we got them heated up as I think that really make their homemade deliciousness POP. I couldn't get over how thick and chewy my treat was. It tasted exactly like how it sounds but cranked to an 11. The cold brew was just that. Long-steeped coffee over ice. I don't think I've ever had a cold brew that wasn't just that and that is perfectly fine in my book While we were checking out, we noticed some stickers for sale. I tried to buy 2 but was told I had to use venmo to pay for the stickers as they were being sold by an independent seller. We ended up grabbing 5 for $15 once I worked out how to pay the person directly. This might be the first time I've seen something sold in a store that wasn't able to be rung up at the register. I didn't get a photo of the 5 we bought but you can rest assure they are mostly coffee-themed. I am truly sad this place is closing up it's doors. You can see on their FB page the reasons why so I won't go into that here. Make sure you pop in while you can before the oven is turned off for good.

Love this new little place in town! Fresh homemade muffins - love the banana nut, wow. Haven't…read moretried anything else yet but the coffee is great too. Comes from a coffee place in Peoria that roasts their own they said. Really good. Beats Starbucks any day

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The Sweet Bean Coffee & Treats
The Sweet Bean Coffee & Treats
The Sweet Bean Coffee & Treats

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Double D's Ice Creme

Double D's Ice Creme

4.5(37 reviews)
2.5 mi
•$

Review Visit: August 19th, 2013…read more Get your mind out of the gutter. We are here to talk about ice cream and that is it. Now that we established that, lets move on. On an evening during peak ice cream shack season, my friend Matt and I headed out to get just that. Having driven through Pekin quite a few times, I was surprised at never noticing this place. But, as my traveling ramped up, I discovered quite a few hidden gems that I drove past without noticing. Matt and I rolled up in the evening time, around the dinner rush time. The place was bustling, which was no surprise as Double D's is right off the main road that runs through Pekin. We got in line after figuring out what we wanted and placed our order. From what my memory recalls, I do remember getting our ice cream fairly quick after ordering. I believe I ordered just your standard ice cream cone with chocolate in it. Maybe it was chocolate/vanilla. Sorry, but I honestly do not remember. Matt got himself an ice cream cone as well. Looking at their current menu (as of 2020), it seems they have a menu similar to most ice cream shacks, if not lacking a bit on the non-ice cream side of things. Having only been here the one time, I can't chime in on how good or bad those offerings are. Now, I do remember there being a foam/fiberglass ice cream cone outside the building. One that you can take fun photos with and post them across all the social media platforms. Sadly, I did not get one during this visit. I do vow to get one the next time I go back... whenever that will be. Maybe it's just a Central Illinois thing but Double D's does suffer from being a small building with outdoor seating only. Not that that is a bad thing but if the weather is not in your favor, it can make coming here a chore. Also, due to these places being seasonal and locally owned in a small building, the parking situation can be tough. Luckily for Double D's, there is a large parking lot next to this location that you can utilize. Other than that, my memory doesn't have much else to say about Double D's. I do hope to go back and try their food again. You may resume having your mind in the gutter.

Lots of ice cream choices! Drive thru and walk in service. They serve Uncle Bobs, locally maderead more

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Double D's Ice Creme
Double D's Ice Creme
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ROC Ice Cream and Mini Golf'

ROC Ice Cream and Mini Golf'

4.9(14 reviews)
11.1 mi
•$

Environment: GREAT I will definitely come there again!…read moreThe environment is so nice. And the mini golf was so much fun in such a beautiful place!

Review Visit: June 13th, 2016…read more A perfect combination of fun and delicious. I have, admittedly, been here many times before June 13th. But that is neither here nor there. The only thing you need to know is that this place has cheap mini golf and some of the best ice cream around. The mini golf portion is about $5.50 a person, young ones being cheaper. The course is your typical 18 holes. But this course is quite challenging and I have only sunk a few Hole-in-Ones here. There is a sweet deep blue fountain/waterfall that runs through most of the park. My ball has gone in the water more times than I care to admit. The challenging but fun course aside, the real gem here is their ice cream. Imported all the way from Madison, Wisconsin, this is some of the best that I have. It easily is in my Top 3. My usual is a Caramel ChocoLatte. Sooooo good. The company they get it from is called Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream and I really want to visit Madison, Wisconsin one day to have ice cream directly from them. All in all, a great place to spend an afternoon putting balls and devouring ice cream. This is actually one of the few places on my blog that falls into two categories. Mini Golf and Ice Cream Shack, since you can pop in and enjoy ice cream without ever stepping on the green.

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ROC Ice Cream and Mini Golf'
ROC Ice Cream and Mini Golf'
ROC Ice Cream and Mini Golf' - Mini Golf Course

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Mini Golf Course

Cranwill's Rootbeer Stand/ Drive In - burgers - Updated May 2026

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