Vonachen’s Old Place will never reopen. The train cars are being moved to Wheels ‘o Time Museum, and the building is being razed.

And I’m sad. In a world full of cookie-cutter chain restaurants, VOP’s was truly unique. It was a great place to take the family for lunch or dinner. It was a great place to go for special occasions. The private dining rooms on the train car were great for dates. And I took many an out-of-town business associate there, since it was one of the most interesting places in town to eat.

The place is full of stories. Like the train car that is closest to Prospect Road — it was a private car for Toledo, Peoria & Western (TP&W) president George McNear. Railroad workers went on strike back in the 1940s, and McNear wouldn’t give in to their demands. At one point, he tried running a TP&W train with strikebreakers — and armed guards to ensure passage past picketers. Some picketers got injured in that confrontation, and on March 10, 1946, as McNear was walking home from a Bradley game, he was shot to death right on the street. The murderer was never found.

But now stories like that will be tucked away at a museum north of town, along with the clock from the old Peoria County Courthouse and other treasures long discarded by Peoria. No doubt a chain restaurant will take the place of the eatery originally known as Vonachen’s Junction, and it will probably be very successful, too.

Oh well. Times change.