Did You Know There Was an Illinois Beef-a-Roo That Suddenly Vanished?

When I moved out from Chicago in the mid-90s I had no idea the power of Beef-a-Roo.

Truthfully, outside of Rockford, I am unsure if people knew about it either.

I now know that Beef-a-Roo is a Rockford staple. It's a restaurant people visit when they come back home during the holidays. It's that kind of spot. The nostalgia goes hard when people talk about Beef-a-Roo.

For me, I didn't grow up in the 815 so I can't speak to the good old days of Beef A Roo but I can tell you now and since the day I arrived, the food has always been fab.

So I was unsurprised when the Beef-a-Roo franchise was sold to new owners intending to take our beloved restaurant nationwide.

Now with locations in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas and many many more planned I wonder if they'll consider reopening a location that has been long closed.

How do I know this? Well, because the frame of an OG Beef-a-Roo restaurant is there along with what used to be their big sign you could see on the side of the road.

Someone on YouTube did a video of the place in 2019 and it looked like the place has been kept up with since its closure.

Speaking of, I am pretty sure this Beef-a-Roo closed maybe in the early 2000s if not the late 90s. For a building that has been relatively untouched for 20 years, it's holding up well.

It's real crazy considering the sign is still up. See it for yourself. The only Beef-a-Roo location that closed down permanently is at 2913 Lincolnway in Sterling.