The Cozy Dog Drive In is a restaurant located at 2935 South Sixth Street in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, United States. The ''crusty curs'' which were

hot dogs A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausag ...

coated in a corn meal batter, were sold at the USO club and at the base PX by Ed Waldmire. Upon returning to Springfield, Ed's wife, Virginia, stated that "crusty cur" was not a good name for regular civilians. Together, they decided upon the name "Cozy Dog," and Virginia created the original logo of two hot dogs in a loving embrace. Ed then began selling the corn dogs at the

Illinois State Fair The Illinois State Fair is an annual festival, centering on the theme of agriculture, hosted by the U.S. state of Illinois in the state capital, Springfield, Illinois, Springfield. The state fair has been celebrated almost every year since 1853 ...

in 1946 where they gained popularity. The original Cozy Dog stand was opened outside of his house, also in 1946. A second stand was opened, but it was later moved into a building that shared seating with

Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and G ...

. Cozy Dogs were originally sold for 15 cents. In 1996, Cozy Dog moved to its current location just north of the original location. Customers can come inside and sit down, order to-go, or go through a drive up window. Orders are taken at the counter and then brought out to the customer. Ed's son and daughter-in-law, Buz and Sue, leased the restaurant from Ed. After their divorce in 2001, Buz sold his half to Sue. Cozy Dog is a popular attraction on

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

. The restaurant features Route 66

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

and it also features a gift shop with Route 66 merchandise.

Springfield, IL Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, memorabilia is housed there also. They have a guest book where tourists from all over can sign. Route 66 artist

Bob Waldmire Robert Waldmire (April 19, 1945 – December 16, 2009) was an American artist and cartographer who is well known for his artwork of U.S. Route 66, including whimsical maps of the ''Mother Road'' and its human and natural ecology. Being the son ...

was the son of Ed and Virginia. He traveled along the route, getting ideas for designs for postcards and maps. The Cozy Dog is one of three Springfield restaurants featured in an October 2009 episode of ''

Man v. Food ''Man v. Food'' is an American food reality television series. It premiered on December 3, 2008 on the Travel Channel. The program was originally hosted by actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman. In each episode, Richman explores the "big food" o ...

'' on the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

. It was also featured in WQED's documentary ''A Hot Dog Program'' in 1999.

References

External links

Cozy Dog Drive In
official site {{coord, 39.7624, -89.6488, type:landmark_region:US-IL, display=title Restaurants in Illinois Buildings and structures in Springfield, Illinois U.S. Route 66 in Illinois Tourist attractions along U.S. Route 66 Hot dog restaurants in the United States Companies based in Sangamon County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Springfield, Illinois Restaurants established in 1946 1946 establishments in Illinois

See also

References

External links