Prince Castle

Anyone in the Chicagoland area remember Prince Castle ?

There used to a store on South Harlem Avenue and I also remember one in Oak lawn on 95th street...

What ever became of this chain, any info would be appreciated.

http://www.rblandmark.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=682&TM=46139.31

Hope this helps !

I can remember my mom taking us to the Prince Castle located on E. State St. in Rockford IL in the late '60s and early '70s.

Brad

There was a Prince Castle in Chicago Heights in the early 70's. The memory of their chocolate banana shakes still makes me weak in the knees. Just the best!!!

That's a great link Big Sausage, thanks for posting it.

i used to go to the one in hammond,indiana on 165th street off of hohman.what a treat to get a hamburger and an ince cream cone scooped by those square scoops.

I try to get over to the Brookfield Cock Robin a couple a times a month. I love the doubles with cheese when they are right off the gril

There was a Prince Castle in Elgin in the 60's, the building is now a cleaners. Also a Prince Castle in Aurora just off Rte. 31, it was a very good Mexican place for a while in the 70's but has been shuttered ever since, the structure still very much a Prince Castle building.

i never knew that prince castle was an actual restaurant chain, i thought they only made bun toasters and other equipment..

There was a Cock Robin on Ogden just east of LaGrange Road near the underpass. It's long gone so we frequent the Brookfield one. I agree with Tommy2dogs on the double cheeseburgers - hot, juicy and cheesey! I always thought the square ice cream scoops were different. Thanks Big Sausage for the link, the Landmark used to be my hometown newspaper.

Next time I'm up that way I will have to stop into brookfield and check it out... Are they open year round ?

yes, I remember the one in Elgin, it was right across the street from the Yankee Doodle Dandy (probably not there anymore either) when I was a kid in the early 70's we used to go there for square ice cream and burgers to die for! What a great memory.

Brookfield closes for the winter and as of yesterday, there is a for sale sign in the window. In the summer, it's always packed. have to wait and see if they re-open in the spring.

Thanks for the info ChiTownDiner

quote:

Originally posted by FatesWarning

yes, I remember the one in Elgin, it was right across the street from the Yankee Doodle Dandy (probably not there anymore either) when I was a kid in the early 70's we used to go there for square ice cream and burgers to die for! What a great memory.

I always wondered what that was across from YDD. Thanks! As far as Yankee Doodle Dandy in Elgin, i ate there probably four times a week since i worked nearby. I loved that "steak" sandwich! Long gone but i wonder if there are others?

quote:

Originally posted by PepperPhil

Anyone in the Chicagoland area remember Prince Castle ?

There used to a store on South Harlem Avenue and I also remember one in Oak lawn on 95th street...

What ever became of this chain, any info would be appreciated.

I remember the Prince Castle on South Harlem. It was at the intersection of 57th Street and Harlem Avenue, which was about 2 or 3 blocks from my Uncle's house. I used to live in Oak Lawn, but I don't recall a Prince Castle in that area.

LJM

There was one on 95th street....I do believe the building is still there.

I grew up in Oak Lawn and remember a Prince Castle on Southwest Highway just west of Cicero Avenue. My grandparents used to take me there for strawberry ice cream sodas. Long gone -- there's a car wash there now, I think ...

I used to go to Prince Castle when I was young in Aurora,IL
There were 2 of them. One on the east side and one on the west side of town.

The building on the westside is gone...The one on the eastside is now a liquor store.

I miss those burgers.

Interesting. I saw this and I thought of Prince Castle Manufacturing, the equipment company that some McDonald's executives had ownership in that manufactured all the customized equipment McDonald's developed for its stores. They were located in a Chicago suburb next to the original Hamburger University.

http://www.princecastle.com/about_us.html

The Prince Castle (the ice cream/hamburger shop) company developed the Multimixer which could make several shakes at the same time. Ray Kroc was one of their salesmen and happened to make a sales call on the McDonald brothers resturant in California. The rest as they say

http://dimbeautyofchicago.blogspot.com/2008/03/prince-castle-and-cock-robin.html

Like Brad Olson I also remember the Prince Castle on State Street in Rockford. There was also a Prince Castle in Dixon, Illinois, right on the Rock River on River Street. I think there is now a Quiznos at that location.

I remember the Cock Robin by the kiddieland in Maywood Park. We usually stopped there to eat after our day of rides.
britt

I always remember this was fast food before McD's - a couple of steakburgers and a One-In-A-Million and as a kid it couldn't get much better that that. The one in La Grange across from the Y was a favorite spot I would drive down from Wisconsin to find one if there any still out there.

in Chicago Heights, the best chocolate banana milk shakes EVER!

I sure do remember Prince Castle hamburger shops. When I was a kid and we lived in Chicago, I was unaware of them. After we moved to the south suburbs in 1968, though, I started seeing them all over. The one on 162nd St. in Harvey is still standing, but I'm not sure if it's currently occupied or not. I only ate at Prince Castle one time. I never went back because I didn't care much for the burger, but I was impressed by the french fries. I also remember Cock Robin very well. My first apartment, back in 1975, was in Franklin Park, and there was a CR not too far away ( can't remember where exactly. ) I ate there a number of times, and thought that they had a very good burger.