Riggen's Frostop, Chrisman, Illinois

Next up in our series on Frostop's Across the United States is the Riggen's Frostop located in Chrisman, Illinois.

Part 2:

Riggen's Frostop Chrisman, IL The Frostop in Chrisman, Illinois was built in 1954 by E.O. Tate. Rena Riggen started working for Mr. Tate in 1955. In 1956, Rena and her husband Robert (Bob) Riggen, began leasing the Frostop from Mr. Tate. They leased the restaurant for three years, but in 1959, Mr. Tate sold the Frostop to Luther Vandevander. Rena stayed on and worked for him. Two years later, Rena and Bob bought the Frostop. Since 1961, the Frostop in Chrisman has been run by the Riggen family.

Rena Riggen & daughter Sue Riggen Lawlyes

In the early 1990's, Rena & Bob's children took over the restaurant. Their children, Sue & Dave, now run the restaurant. Rena, now 88 years old, still works everyday part time. Robert Riggen sadly passed away in 2002 and his long time presence at the Frostop is missed everyday.

Dave Riggen The Riggen's Frostop still uses car hops and does not have indoor seating. The restaurant offers service to cars, picnic tables, and to go orders. The menu consists of hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches, catfish dinners, Italian beef dinners, ice cream, and of course the famous root beer in a frosty mug. New this year to the menu is pizza which is already a good seller.

Newest menu item - Pizza!

The Frostop is seasonal and is open from mid March until mid October due to the COLD Midwestern winters. The Riggen's Frostop has been Chrisman's local landmark and hangout since it was built. The small town has a population of 1400 and in Chrisman, Frostop is "THE" place to be!

The Frostop celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005 with a cruise in car show, a band, and they even had car hops both past and present. The celebration was enjoyed by all!

50th anniversary cruise in 2005

Terrific video of the Riggen's Frostop from 1994.

To see the video from Episode 522 from Thursday July 14, 1994 on the Riggen's Frostop click the link below.

http://will.illinois.edu/prairiefire/segment/pf1994-07-14-c/

The Riggen's Frostop Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=263951728390&ref=ts

I would like to thank Mandi Lawlyes Cochran, the grandaughter of Rena, for all of her help with the information for this article! The Frostop in Chrisman, Illinois is located at:

314 Pennsylvania

Chrisman, IL 61924

Phone: 217-269-2223

Huntington, West Virginia Frostop

This will be the first in what I hope to be a series on other Frostop from across the United States. With the few remaining Frostop scattered across the country, I thought it was important to document those that are left.

Part I:

Huntington Frostop

The Frostop in Huntington, West Virginia is co-owned by sisters Marilyn Murdock and Bing Murphy. Their father, Rupert McGinnis, and uncle, William Warnock, opened the business on May 29, 1959. The Frostop was run by McGinnis until his death in 1980 and then taken over by his wife until her death in 1996. The sisters took over ownership of the business at that time. They said they have learned quite a bit of the business from the employees - three of them have been with Frostop for over 25 years!

Co-Owners Marilyn Murdock & Bing Murphy

The Frostop building has remained true to its original design. The mug on the roof even still turns!

Close up picture of mug on the roof

The Huntington Frostop serves many items typically found at drive-in restaurants. Burgers, BBQ pork sandwich, fried fish sandwich, french fries, onion rings, ice cream, shakes, and sundaes. The two signature items would be their root beer and hot dogs. The root beer is still served in a frosty mug as it should be. Huntington, WV is known for its Hot Dog Festival the Huntington Frostop is part of that hot dog tradition. The Frostop even sponsors the root beer chugging contest.

http://http//wvhotdogfestival.com/pages/rootbeer.html The Huntington Frostop celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday May 30, 2009 with a car show and anniversary cake.

50th Anniversary Cake

To see the great videos from the anniversary click the link below.

www.youtube.com/frostopdrivein

Their Facebook group page:

I Love Frostop Drive-In In Huntington West Virginia

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49979608894&ref=ts

Pictures courtesy of the I Love Frostop Drive-In In Huntington West Virginia Facebook group page. I would also like to thank Marilyn Murdock for her help with information for this article.

The LaPlace Frostop would like to congratulate the Huntington Frostop on its 51st anniversary on May 29, 2010. It is great to so another Frostop that has stood the test of time. Hope you keep your mug turning for many more years to come!

The Frostop in Huntington, WV is located at:

1449 Hal Greer Blvd.

Huntington, WV 25701-4113

Phone: 304-523-6851