Route 66 Creamery — Restaurant in Hamel

Same teen boy every time we visit, and unfortunately, the same issue each time.

Our first visit, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and received a BLT. On the second visit, I specifically ordered a bacon cheeseburger plain — only bacon and cheese — but by my third bite, it was full of ketchup, mustard, and pickles.

Today was our third visit, and I ordered two chili dogs with no cheese (I even repeated it twice). Yet both came out covered in cheese. This could be serious if someone was not able to have something or allergic.

The first time, I thought maybe he was new. The second time, I was having a rough day and tried to laugh it off. But this time, we were on a time crunch, and having to wait for the order to be remade was really frustrating.

I truly don’t like to complain because the food itself is great — the strawberry milkshakes and ice cream are amazing, and the rest of the menu is usually really good. But the service has been consistently poor every time we’ve come.

It’s hard to believe ours is the only order that’s been rung up wrong. Either this young man needs more training, shouldn’t be on the register, or maybe just isn’t a good fit for that position.

We’ve never been offered a refund, a remake without the wait, or even an apology — and that’s disappointing for an otherwise...

So my kid and I were from out of town and on our way to see Hamilton when we decided to stop here to get something to eat before we got there. I love a mom and pop, so this looked like the perfect spot. We go in, and I order when I realize I forgot my debit card at home and I have no money. I start panicking because I can't go back to get it, and I now have no money for food, drinks, gas, emergencies, etc. I, a 40 year old woman, start crying in front of these 3 young people running the restaurant. The young gentleman who was ringing me up then offered to buy our food with his own money!! I told him absolutely not but that I was incredibly grateful for the offer. Luckily, after sitting down for a few minutes, I was able to figure out how to set up Google Pay, and the day was saved. All of the staff were so excited for me, and we cheered. Lol. Anyways, the food was great, but that didn't really matter to me at that point. These 3 young people were the sweetest, kindest, and most compassionate people in a world where kindness is becoming a rarity. Their parents, boss, and community should be so proud. As the song goes, "the kids are...

I've been here several times but this was the first time in 2021. Overall, it's a great ice cream place for a small town with a cool atmosphere. They now offer food in addition to ice cream, and it looks like the food is reasonably priced. The ice cream is pretty good but I don't believe it's as good as Annie's or Northside Dairy in Edwardsville (best in Hamel though). Some of the ice cream is relatively pricey, but there are several options which are worth the price. If it isn't busy, the wait time is reasonable, but it can be slow when there is a crowd. Also, none of the staff on this visit wore a mask (April 2021). This obviously is more of a personal judgement, but DK's down the road still has staff wear masks. It would be hard to enforce masks for patrons with it being an outdoor establishment, but I would expect food handlers to wear masks in covid-era. That being said, we will likely still come...