Sandy's opened its first location on Sheridan Road in Peoria, Illinois. This location exploded which lead to the creation of the Sandy's chain. It was natural that surrounding cities would support the now wildly popular Sandy's drive-in.
One of these cities is nearby Pekin, Illinois. Sandy's opened their twelfth location in Pekin at 1301 Court Street. This location most likely opened in late 1960. It along with the other original Sandy's was a major success leading to a sister store at 312 Derby Street which probably opened in 1967.
Sandy's on Court does not appear on the 1973 final Sandy's list and it is unclear as to if it was still in operation at that time. It does however appear on the 1968 list. In any case, the Derby Sandy's switched to Hardees in 1973 and today is a used car dealership with the building showing no resemblance of Sandy's. Court Street Sandy's, as of 07/08/06, no longer exists. The site is now an Arby's thus maintaining the location as an eating establishment some four decades after it first opened!
Notice that in the first pictures the counter is the classic Sandy's walk-up while in the last picture it is in the fall or winter and the "winter cover" has been added (the glass section which protected the customers from the elements while they were standing in line)!
Special thanks to Sandy's fan and incredible librarian Joanne Heilman who went above and beyond the call of duty to make this page happen! Thank you Joanne!
If you have any memorabilia, pictures or stories of Sandy's in Pekin, Illinois or elsewhere, please email me!