Lou Mitchell's

The History

Lou Mitchell's opened in 1923 when William Mitchell established a small restaurant at 565 W Jackson Boulevard in what is now Chicago's West Loop. The location was strategic, sitting near Union Station and the bustling rail hub that made Chicago the transportation capital of America. Three years later, in 1926, U.S. Route 66 was officially designated, and the eastern terminus of the "Mother Road" ran directly past Lou Mitchell's front door. Almost overnight, the restaurant became the traditional first meal for travelers setting out on the 2,400-mile journey from Chicago to Santa Monica, California.

Uncle Lou Mitchell took over the restaurant in the 1930s and transformed it into something more than a diner. He established the traditions that would define the restaurant for the next century. First came the Milk Duds: free boxes of the chocolate-covered caramels, handed to women and children waiting in line as a gesture of hospitality and gratitude for their patience. Then came the donut holes, offered warm and fresh to everyone in line. Uncle Lou also insisted on using only double-yolk eggs — eggs containing two yolks instead of one — which the restaurant sorted by hand. The double yolks produced richer, more golden omelets and scrambles, and they became a signature that no other diner could match. Every morning, the bakery inside the restaurant produced fresh pastries — Greek toast, apple pie, Danish — that filled the small dining room with an aroma that pulled people in off the street.

Over the decades, Lou Mitchell's became one of the most recognized restaurants in Chicago and one of the most famous diners in America. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its significance as both a culinary institution and a landmark of Route 66 history. Presidents, celebrities, and millions of ordinary travelers have eaten here. President Obama stopped in during his time in Chicago. Every Route 66 guidebook in the world — in English, Japanese, German, and a dozen other languages — lists Lou Mitchell's as an essential stop. The restaurant has been serving breakfast and lunch continuously for over a century, making it one of the oldest restaurants in Chicago and a living monument to the city's role as the starting point of the most famous road in America.

What Made It Famous

Three things made Lou Mitchell's legendary, and all three are inseparable from its identity: Route 66, the double-yolk eggs, and the Milk Duds. The Route 66 connection is perhaps the most powerful. When the Mother Road was established in 1926, it created a river of American migration and adventure that flowed from Chicago to the Pacific Coast. Lou Mitchell's, sitting at the very beginning of that road, became the symbolic first meal of the journey. For nearly a century, travelers have started their Route 66 trips with a plate of eggs and a cup of coffee at 565 W Jackson Boulevard. The restaurant's position at the origin point of America's most storied highway gave it a significance that transcended food — eating at Lou Mitchell's became a ritual, a rite of passage, a way of participating in a grand American tradition.

The double-yolk eggs are the culinary signature that sets Lou Mitchell's apart from every other diner in the country. Most restaurants would never bother with the labor-intensive process of sorting eggs by hand to select doubles, but Lou Mitchell's has done it for decades. The result is visible on the plate: the omelets and scrambles are noticeably richer and more golden than what you'd find anywhere else. It's a small, obsessive detail, but it communicates something important about the restaurant's philosophy — that quality matters, that tradition matters, and that doing something the hard way can be worth it when the result is better.

The Milk Duds tradition is the human touch that makes Lou Mitchell's unforgettable. There is no practical reason to hand out free boxes of candy to women and children waiting for a table. Uncle Lou started doing it in the 1930s simply because he wanted his customers to feel welcomed and appreciated, and the tradition has continued for nearly a century. The donut holes, offered warm and fresh to everyone in line, serve the same purpose. In a city full of legendary restaurants, Lou Mitchell's is the one that makes you feel like a guest in someone's home before you even sit down. That combination of Route 66 romance, obsessive quality, and genuine warmth has kept Lou Mitchell's packed for over a hundred years.

Key Facts

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