Cranwill's Rootbeer Stand/ Drive In - Hot dog restaurant in Pekin - 1713 S 2nd St, USA

Cranwill's is cool. It brings a strong nostalgic vibe that reminds me a lot of how Sonic felt to me as a kid. More importantly than that, their owner is beyond dedicated to customer satisfaction. I feel very comfortable eating here despite the environs, and I make it a point to come back for their awesome root beer and ice cream every summer.

This was my first and probably only time I have been here, and it was a TREAT! The staff was great and the food was tasty. I even had a super old car part one stall over from me to complete the drive-in experience.

For an out of towner the drive up was. A bit confusing but the waitress came over and helped explained how to order and was very friendly The food was good and quick. Fun spot to stop.

I have always loved going here their food is fantastic and everyone is so nice and they always have the freshest root beer. I would recommend going here if you love a classic burger or hotdogs and a old drive in like experience. They're prices aren't bad either. The only thing that sucks is they're only open in spring and summer instead of all year round but it makes you always excited for when they open next season lol.

Food and rootbeer very good. Pleasant staff. Inside and outside seating and old school order in your car drive in as well.

Review Date: July 7th, 2015 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.

everything was great, Staff was friendly, and quick. The food was great. If you haven't been here, make it a point to stop in and give them some support.

Brought back memories! Food was good! Rootbeer was the best!