Tom's Place

 The building that housed Tom's Place from the 1920s until 2023 and Big Nate's BBQ for a few months after that has been demolished. tom's Place started as a roadhouse designed so patrons could enter and dine without be observed by other customers and for the last 20 years was considered the finest place to dine in southern Illinois. I never ate there or even went inside but certainly sorry to see it razed.

Tom's Place Becomes Big Nate's

 Glad to see that Big Nate's now has a permament location but somewhat torn about the name change as both of them have strong brands. Tom's Place has almost a century of brand name recognition in the region and Big Nate's has about 5 years, although 40 years of experience cooking and Tom's Place chef Blake Squibb will remain on the staff.  Since the menu is shifting away from what Tom's Place was known for the past 20 years, the name change is probably a good idea.

Tom's Place Closing

 After over a century in DeSoto, Tom's Place will be closing on July 1. The restaurant announced on its Facebook page today that, after over 100 years open and operating the past 25 years under the ownership of MaryJane and Lasse Sorensen, the couple has decided to close the business. They feel that the past three years have proved stressful and they have neither the energy nor the health to continue operating, but hope that someone may take over operations in the future.