Next Monday is Labor Day, which means the end of summer and that means the end of this doggone tour!
I thought we’d go out in style with a corn dog at Jimm’s Bar, one of my favorite Peoria places and a wonderful spot to end this hot diggity dog tour at!
Let’s head on down to Farmington Road in West Peoria. Hot dog!
Here we are at Jimmy’s bar and as I was snapping some outside photos, I ran into the man himself, Jimmy Spears, the owner and operator of Jimmy’s Bar!
Always a pleasure to see Jimmy and catch up with him. Jimmy is one of the nicest people I’ve ever known and I remember when Jimmy’s opened up over 43 years ago!
Jimmy’s Bar is an iconic Peoria destination and I thank Jimmy for all the fun times I’ve had at this classic Peoria Pub that he created and has kept running for over four decades!
Okay, let’s go in and start the 13th and final week of the 2025 MBIP hot dog tour!
There’s the bar and the grill is always open, so we know we’re getting our corn dog today!
I love the Jimmy’s clock on the wall, there’s the beer can and bottle collection next to the bar and the walls are covered in fun pictures and various memorabilia like the Spears jersey and I love the Saw Doctors photo because I met them in New York City years ago and we talked about Jimmy’s bar when I met them!
Here’s some great newpaper articles and testimony about what a great bar Jimmy Spears and his family have run through the years.
There’s gaming machines up front if you feel lucky…well, do ya punk?
I went and got a table to enjoy lunch and the timing was perfect because as soon as I sat down, our special guest for the day arrived, it’s my friend Michelle and she’s looking beautiful and it’s always a pleasure to see her and hang out with her.
Michelle and I first met at another West Peoria bar way back in 2013. This was back when I first started the blog and Michelle was the first person to ever recognize me because of the blog!
We’ve been friends ever since and it’s now been over a dozen years since we first met! As I always say, fun flies when you’re having time!
We went up and placed our luncheon order with Gracie who was working behind the bar. She happily took our order and flashed a pretty smile for the MBIP Camera!
While we were up at the bar I got a couple photos of the Elvis lamp and dueling statues and there’s the classic Jimmy’s Bar sign hanging on the back wall.
Meanwhile, back at our table, lunch has arrived!
Michelle got the Grilled Chicken Sandwich and I got the Mr. Spears Basket which is a corn dog and potato chips!
Everything looks fabulous, the food is always fantastic at Jimmy’s! Time to dig in!
There’s Michelle enjoying her Grilled Chicken sandwich!
I’ve had the corn dog here many times and it’s always a delicious and tasty treat!
After lunch, Sue and Ed stopped by our table and said hello.
Wonderful to see the two of them, Ed and I go all the way back to when we both went to Bergan High School and drank many underage beers together!
I’ve gotten to know and be friends with their son, Ryan who has a fantastic and fun YouTube page and podcast called, Gambling With Good JuJu: Good JuJu Bets. Check it out, it’s a fun podcast and if you’re a gambler you will love it! Here’s a link to their website as well!
After lunch we strolled back to the beer garden and here’s a shot of the beer patio on the side of the building.
Here’s Michelle and I outside of Jimmy’s Bar.
Thanks to Michelle for being the guest star of the week on our final hot dog post! Always fun to see Milchelle and hang out for an afternoon!
And thanks to Jimmy and everyone at Jimmy’s Bar for a wonderful afternoon, Jimmy picked up our tab and that was very nice of him to do and we appreciated it!
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Hot Dog Rating
The food is always fantastic at Jimmy’s Bar, which is a classic and iconic Peoria institution! I’ve never had a bad meal there and the corn dog was fabulous as always!
I’ll give Jimmy’s corn dog a nice rating of 2.75, the corn dog is always a treat and it’s even tastier when you’re eating it at Jimmy’s Bar, a classic West Peoria destination!
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This concludes this year’s hot dog tour and all of the hot dogs were tasty and delicious! Next week we’ll have a palate cleanser and we’ll be announcing the next MBIP food tour for the fall and the rest of 2025!
Stay tuned and have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!
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2801 W. Farmington Road
West Peoria
309-676-4021
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Related Posts: Dog Days Of Summer 2025: The Other Dawg, The Ice Cream Shack, Portillo’s, Last Chance Bar & Grill, “The Original” Wonderdog, She Pop/Glen Oak Park, Alwan And Sons Meat Co., Theo’s, Emo’s Dairy Mart, Weaver’s Fresh Food & Drink, Dog Haus Biergarten Peoria and Lou’s Drive-In.