One big fear I had during this pandemic is that Castle’s Patio Inn might shut down. I stopped in there last September to buy some cheese and I talked with the owner, Barb Castle and she told me that they wouldn’t be re-opening any time soon and for the time being she was just going to sell cheese a few days a week. I just had a bad feeling and hoped that somehow it would re-open.

Well this week I read some good news via Phil Luciano from the PJ Star: Castle’s Patio Inn has been sold and the new owners say they’re not going to change much about the bar. They’re saying that they might re-open in June!

That certainly is good news and in honor of this, I thought we’d travel back in time to 2013 and take a look at my first Saturday night dinner I had in there after I moved back to Peoria!

Oh Sherman…

Please set the Saturday Night Wayback Machine for February 4th, 2013 and…

Whoomp, here we are at Castle’s Patio Inn.

Let’s go inside as you can see from the snow on the ground, it’s freezing out here!

There’s Alex behind the bar serving up an ice-cold bottle of Budweiser!

Alex is one of the friendliest bartenders in Peoria and always has an intriguing and fun story up his sleeve!

Castle’s is known for their original cheese spread that you can only find here. They serve it up in a crock at the bar with a sleeve of Ritz Crackers.

I’ve been loving this cheese since I first started coming here in the ‘70’s back when it was Ray’s Patio Inn!

There’s more cheese stashed behind the bar in these wooden coolers. You can get these to go and enjoy them at home or bring them to a party.

This is why Castle’s Patio Inn is known as…

The Cheesiest Place in Town!

I placed my order with Alex and now let’s take a look around while my Saturday night meal is being prepared.

There’s a lot to look at while perusing the walls in Castle’s Patio Inn.

Everything from vintage beer signs and lights to collectible sports equipment, a framed article from the aforementioned Phil Luciano to a phone that doesn’t fit in your pocket!

I also love that they don’t accept credit cards!

Meanwhile, back at the bar…it looks like it’s just about time for our Saturday night dinner to happen!

Live, from Peoria, it’s our Saturday night dinner!

I got the cheeseburger with grilled onions and as you can see I applied a healthy amount of mustard to the cheeseburger.

I also got French fries and cole slaw. Let’s dig in!

This was a tasty cheeseburger!

The grilled onions added a nice savory layer of flavor and the bun was bakery fresh. The fries and cole slaw were tasty and complimented the burger perfectly.

A wonderful Saturday night meal in an iconic Peoria tavern!