These are the 10 most popular restaurants in Illinois this month, Yelp says
A recent ranking from Yelp users named a “mom and pop” kitchen the most popular restaurant in Illinois this June, and it’s not in Chicagoland.
The Yelp report, June’s Most Popular Restaurants in Illinois, named downtown Springfield’s Long Nine Junction No. 1.
Long Nine Junction specializes in house-roasted meats, made-from-scratch breads and cookies.
“All of our food is made in house with love,” Emily Faucon told the News-Democrat via email. Emily Faucon and her husband, Corey Faucon, own and operate Long Nine Junction.
The restaurant focuses on lunch service, with hours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Long Nine Junction returned to its downtown Springfield location in November after closing in 2021. In between, the Faucons owned and operated a restaurant called Mom + Pop’s in Petersburg.
“We love being in the heart of downtown and our new concept has brought us a lot of joy!” Faucon said.
The Long Nine Junction staff consists of just four employees, Faucon said.
Menu items include “the ultimate beefy sammich,” a house specialty with slow-braised chuck roast, melted cheese and homemade bread, and other sandwich options such as a pesto parm panini, the French pig and bacon ranch.
The restaurant also serves soup, salad and bowl meals. Long Nine Junction has a 4.9-star rating on Yelp, with more than 300 reviews.
Top 10 most popular restaurants in Illinois
Here’s how the top 10 most popular restaurants in the state stacked up, according to Yelp’s report for June:
- Long Nine Junction, Springfield
- Penumbra, Chicago
- Oriole, Chicago
- Siunik Armenian Grill, Glenview
- Sahara Palace Restaurant, Rockford
- Country Donuts, Crystal Lake
- QC Coffee and Pancake House, Rock Island
- Chicago Magic Lounge, Chicago
- jeong, Chicago
- The Norwegian, Rockford
While no metro-east restaurants cracked Yelp’s top 10 list this month, the region is home to joints where you can grab Chicago-style pizza and popular roadside eats.
Do you have a question about restaurants in Illinois for the News-Democrat? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Metro-east Matters form below.
This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 12:38 PM.
