A cool place that few know is there

Livejournal is sort of like MySpace: There are lots of people and lots of traffic, but you have to sift through bushels and bushels of chaff to find a few nuggets of wheat.

I found a tasty morsel today in shadowplay2’s impressions of Route 66 in Illinois. He stopped at the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield for a meal. Urged by the Ariston’s owners, he then drove to downtown Chenoa, stopped at a coffee shop there and chatted with the proprieter:

When I mentioned to the proprietor that I think Chenoa is a cute town (if not a very busy one), she was gracious but seemed a little surprised, as if she doesn’t hear that very often. Various questions followed, I ended up explaining the whole concept of New Urbanism (some fairly sophisticated places are spending a great deal of money to recreate walkable main street core districts) and eventually I had received the pocket history of the town, or at least the past 15 years worth. Apparently a lot of the main street businesses closed after a Wal-Mart opened nearby… a fairly typical small town story. A few hung on until just recently. The coffee house is relatively new, and so far caters mostly to locals. It’s a shame more people don’t know about this place, it’s actually a fascinating few blocks, well worth a half-hour detour off the interstate maybe a mile away. The few natives I met were quite friendly, and I’m assured that the food is good too. Can’t help but wonder what a handful of bright, creative, and dedicated artists could do in a town like this… assuming anyone knew they were there?