Sandy's fan Bob Rother presents the Decatur, Illinois Sandy's story!
I can’t tell you how pleased I was to see all this old Sandy’s memorabilia. It is rare for me to run into someone who remembers. Looking at your website and photos really brought back the memories.
I grew up in the Sandy’s business. My dad, George Rother, was manager at location 005, which was Sandy’s of Decatur East. I grew up with the business and started working there on weekends when I was 12 or 13. By the time I was 16 I was running a shift now and then at both Sandy’s East and West.
Sandy's manager in uniform George Rother with a very special customer!
My mother, Carol, was the first woman to work at any of the Sandy’s locations that we knew about. In the early to mid 60’s there were only guys working at any of the fast-food restaurants in town. (Sandy’s, McDonalds, Mr. Quick, and Burger Chef.) No one knew why, that’s just the way it was. When my mom started working, it caused a stir. It didn’t take long before all of them started hiring women. Mom was also the first woman to work as a shift manager at a Sandy’s. She and I always opened the store on Sunday mornings. She set up the cash registers and the customer counters, while I cleaned the grill, filtered the deep fryers, set up and filled the shake mixer, and sliced tomatoes, and onions, and prepared other food for the day.
I still remember the recipe for the Big Scott Sauce. The Fish Sandwich Tarter Sauce was similar but I don’t remember the exact recipe.
In approximately 1971, a Dairy bar and with soft serve ice cream and an expanded seating area was added to Sandy’s of Decatur, West. It was great fun to work there after that because you could make great treats for yourself for your break. We could make everything a DQ could make and I think we got a little more creative. We were one of the first places to make an ice cream sandwich with chocolate ice cream.
Sandy's Decatur West - notice the unique side addition to the building noted by Bob Rother
When I got out of high school in 1976, I got a job as assistant manager of Sandy’s of Bloomington Illinois. Mark Krull was the manager at that time. I was working there in 1977 when it changed over to Bucky’s.
Sandy's Bloomington, Illinois in 1977, holding the fort four years after 90% of all Sandy's became Hardees in 1973!
How Sandy’s changed to Bucky’s.
My Dad’s cousin was Doug Spanton. His nickname was Buck, (Yes, I had an Uncle Buck!), and he lived in Lincoln Illinois. Buck inherited a chain of eight Sandy’s locations from his father Maurice. These were in Decatur (3 locations) and Bloomington IL, Lawrence KS, Memphis TN, and Marion IN. I also heard about one in Winona MN but I am not sure about that.
Bucky's in the original Sandy's building in Decatur, Illinois In 1972, when Sandy’s was devoured by Hardee’s, Buck made the decision to wait. All of his managers wanted to make the change. At that time, flame broiling was the buzzword and all the managers wanted it. The managers also wanted to have the national advertising that went along with the change. Buck didn’t want to invest in all of the equipment needed. He was also tired of paying franchise fees so he continued as Sandy’s as long as he could. At the end, we couldn’t get cups, napkins, hats, etc. with the logos. I think that was the last straw. One weekend in 1977, my boss told me that I could take a week off. When I got back, we were Bucky’s, not Sandy’s. We had the exact same menu but with different names on the sandwiches.
I left Bucky’s in November that year when I joined the service. My dad worked at Bucky’s East until it burned down in 1978. Then he transferred to Bucky’s West which he managed until he left in 1979. I was home on leave in 1980, the Bucky’s of Bloomington was gone, and there was an Arby’s in its place. Bucky’s West was also turned into an Arby’s. Bucky’s of Decatur North was an empty building by then.
I have some scanned photos to share with you as well as some old stationary that my dad had. I think you will enjoy the graphics on it.
Thanks again for setting up this web page.
Bob Rother
Special thanks to Bob Rother for the incredible pictures and scans of Decatur & Bloomington Sandy's. Special thanks as well to Bob for sharing the Decatur Sandy's story!
01/03/2009 ... Sandy's fan Troy Smith wrote;
I'd like to post an update to the Decatur, IL Sandy's-Bucky's. I used to eat at the Decatur North location as a little kid. I remember in 1978 when it changed to a Bucky's, and in 1981, when it reopened as a Snack Shack. In 1982, it became Bob's Burger Barn, and then a couple of years later changed to a Burger Queen until about 1985. After that I don't believe it was ever again used as a restaurant. I'm trying to locate pictures, as for several years, it was used in its original, unadulterated form. It was last used as a car lot (like so many others) called Royce Motors. In April 1996, the building was totally destroyed by a tornado. Attached are pictures of the retail outlet built on the site (first picture below). Also attached (second picture below) is a photo of the WingZone on the site of the former Sandy's East on Eldorado.
Bob Rother offered some awesome history on the Decatur locations, but don't believe the Bucky's picture on this page is of the Bucky's West or any of the other two Decatur Bucky's. I clearly remember the North Bucky's retaining the traditional Sandy's design and I believe the west did too, until it was replaced by a newer Hardee's building in the mid 80's (the West location is now the only Hardee's location left in Decatur). The landscape in the background also does not fit any of the three Decatur locations. I will try to gather some pictures to substantiate this. Also, I'm sure the Bloomington site was converted to an Arby's, however the West location was never an Arby's. The rest of Bob's information was great and provided some awesome insight as to what it was like to work at Sandy's. Good stuff!
Thanks again for all the great info!
Troy Smith
Sandy's Decatur North location in 2009
Sandy's Decatur East location in 2009
Sandy's Decatur West location in 2009
If only they had not torn down the classic Sandy's buildings! Special thanks to Troy Smith
01/05/2009 ... I was in Decatur today, and I snapped a better pic of Decatur Sandy's East and some of Decatur Sandy's West.
Just for fun, compare the 1971 Sandy's West photo (see the 1971 shot on this page) with the current one from today. You can verify its location from the surrounding landscape (look at the houses to the left).
The west location is obviously now a Hardee's, and the last one in the Decatur area. What's interesting about this particular location is that Hardee's did not acquire it in 1973 like so many of the rest. In fact, according to the city directory, this Hardee's didn't exist until 1987. I wonder how long it will last...
Thanks,
Troy
03/14/2009 ... Sandy's fan Theron Helton wrote;
Hello; I stumbled across your wonderful Sandy's Website while surfing tonight.
Although having just eaten supper I am not hungry, I would still give $50 for a Big Scot and Fries or a couple Hi-Los and Fries!
I was raised in Illiopolis, a small town West of Decatur, Illinois; and Sandy's was the Restaurant/Meeting Spot of choice on Weekend Cruising Nights. As I recall there were three (3) Sandy's in Decatur: Listed in order of Use/Popularity by ME! Sandy's 'West' at Eldorado & Oakland Street (Northeast across Eldorado St. from Millikin University's Football Field), Sandy's 'East' at Eldorado & Jasper Street on the Southwest Corner and Sandy's 'North' on North Water St. on Northwest Corner w/Pythian St.-- Maybe a #4?? somewhere I but can't remember.
ABSOLUTELY the best Fast Food I ever ate. (Sonic's Cream Pie Shakes are right up there for ice cream drinks though!) Thanks for the reminder. I can just taste that Special Sauce on the Big Scot. Might be why I am a little overweight. Oh well................Theron Helton
If you have any memorabilia, pictures or stories of Sandy's in Decatur, Illinois or elsewhere, please email me!
