Entry No. 122 — the Chicago file — filed under: fried chicken
White Fence Farm
Stuyvesant "Jack" Peabody, son of the coal magnate, opened this as a farmhouse restaurant on Route 66 in the early 1920s, and Duncan Hines was writing it up by the end of that decade; the Hastert family has run it since 1954. The chicken is pressure-cooked, held, then flash-fried to order in a breading milled for them in Chicago, and it arrives with corn fritters made on site and a relish tray that belongs to another era. The dining rooms seat over a thousand people, which means the wait happens in a lobby gallery of antique cars, hood ornaments, snow globes, typewriters and Peabody's original Currier & Ives prints. Out back past the red barn there are six female alpacas and three miniature goats you can feed, which is the actual reason to bring a date rather than a bus tour. It is dinner-only Tuesday through Saturday and closed Mondays, so this is a plan you make, not one you stumble into.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in Chicago — never the same twice
The story
Stuyvesant "Jack" Peabody — son of the coal magnate Francis S. Peabody — built this as a farmhouse restaurant on a twelve-acre plot across the road from his horse farm in the early 1920s, and it had already served several thousand customers before Route 66 was officially commissioned in November 1926. Duncan Hines was recommending it by the end of that decade, back when Hines was a traveling salesman keeping a list rather than a cake-mix brand. Peabody ran it until his death in 1946. In 1954 Robert Hastert Sr., a poultry dealer, bought the place and added the thing it is now known for; his son Bob Jr. later refined the cooking using a converted hospital autoclave. Laura Hastert, third generation, owns and operates it today.
The chicken is pressure-cooked, held, then flash-fried to order, and it arrives as a half bird — four pieces per person — with a relish tray that belongs to another century: kidney bean salad, cole slaw, cottage cheese and pickled beets, all family style and replenished on request, plus corn fritters made on site. Eleven dining rooms seat about a thousand people, and the kitchen puts out seven to eight thousand chicken dinners in an average week, with the birds shipped in from Georgia. Because the relishes come to the table family style, there is a per-head charge for adults who do not order dinner.
The wait happens in a lobby that is a museum: antique cars, hood ornaments, snow globes, typewriters and Peabody's own Currier & Ives prints. Out past the parking lot is a red barn with female alpacas and miniature goats you can feed for a quarter's worth of pellets. The sign asks you not to give them corn fritters. It makes them sick.
What it's like
There are no reservations under eight people, so you arrive, give your name, and wait — and the wait is the point, because the lobby is a car museum you walk through rather than a bench you sit on. They seat complete parties only, so nobody joins you later. Dinner is one check per party, no splitting, no outside food, no cake. The chicken takes real time and the oven-roasted version needs twenty minutes, so order early if that is your pick. Afterward, walk out past the parking lot to the red barn: the door is open unless the weather is genuinely cold, feed dispensers take a quarter, and alpaca pellets are the only acceptable currency. Go before dark if the animals are the reason you came, and finish by 8pm, when the kitchen closes.
The move: Take the Sunday 4pm opening, put your name in, and spend the wait doing a two-person lap of the car lobby picking a favorite hood ornament — then chicken, fritters, and out to the barn to feed the alpacas while there's still daylight.
📍 Before you go Closed Mondays. Dine-in hours are 4pm–8pm Tuesday through Saturday and noon–8pm Sunday — kitchen closes at 8, so a late dinner is not an option. Reservations only for parties of eight or more; everyone else waits, and they seat complete parties only. One check per party, no splitting. The alpacas and goats are an outdoor, warm-weather draw and won't be out in cold or wet weather, so go while it's still light. Roughly 40–50 minutes from the Loop via I-55; you need a car. Phone (630) 739-1720.
- 📍 Romeoville
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1376 Joliet Rd, Romeoville, IL 60446
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Keepataw Preserve Lime Kiln — Same town, ten minutes away: a 150-year-old limestone kiln chimney standing in regrown forest, which is the walk your body will want after four pieces of fried chicken and a fritter basket.
- Gemini Giant — Keep going southwest on the old Route 66 alignment to Wilmington, where the fiberglass astronaut that stood outside the Launching Pad for decades was auctioned in 2024 and reinstalled at South Island Park — same highway, same era, no reservation required.
- Resurrection Cemetery (Resurrection Mary) — Almost directly on the drive home via Archer Avenue, and the tonal opposite of a thousand-seat chicken dinner: the gates where Chicago's most persistent hitchhiking ghost is said to vanish.
More weird in Chicago
Good to know
Do I need a reservation?
Only if there are eight or more of you — that is the minimum they take. Private rooms need 35 or more. Everyone else waits, and they will not seat you until your whole party is there.
How do I get there and what does it cost?
1376 Joliet Rd in Romeoville, roughly 40-50 minutes from the Loop via I-55; you need a car. The flash-fried half chicken and the oven-roasted half chicken both run $24.79 as of the 2026 menu, relish tray and fritters included, and there is a cash discount at the register.
When are they closed?
Every Monday, plus Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — and all locations close for the month of January. Dine-in is 4pm-8pm Tuesday through Saturday and noon-8pm Sunday. The kitchen stops at 8.
Are the alpacas always out?
The barn door stays open during restaurant hours unless it is very cold; in serious heat the animals stay inside under fans. Feeding and petting through the fence is free apart from the quarter for pellets, and pellets are the only thing you should give them.
What if someone in my party isn't eating?
There is a charge anyway — about $10.41 for an adult, $5.20 for a child — because the relish tray is served family style to the table. Under twos are free.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Wikipedia
last checked: 2026-08-26