Jack, if you’re listening, this might be a good time to layout directions to your place for anyone coming from the Cozy Dog. I’d do it myself, but I just get there by instinct now. The rest of the world might need some more specific details.

Hey whaddaya know? I just found an old email from the good Dr. with directions to his parking lot:

As you’re heading into town on I-55 (either from the north or south) get off at exit 92, Sixth Street, headed north. Go through three stoplights (you’ll pass the Cozy Drive In about a half mile from the exit). After the third stoplight you’ll see a train viaduct and a fourth stoplight up ahead. The Dr.’s trailer is right there on your left, just beyond the viaduct. Unfortunately, because of the street layout, you will not be able to make a left turn and get into his lot. You need to keep going north on Sixth Street to the next available left. Go one block west to Fifth Street (one way going south), make another left and head back to Jack’s trailer.

It’s way easier than it sounds as you’ll see once you’re there.

To all who dare to make the trek, enjoy your ‘Que from the Dr. of BBQ and tell him BuddyRoadhouse says, "Hey!"

Buddy

Will be travelling thru Springfield, IL in late April and plan to stop at Cozy Dog for an exploratory visit. Will definitely save room for the BBQ up the street.

Looking forward to the trip,

Trolley Bill
Reston, VA

Retraction accepted Pigiron. That said, The Cozy Dog requires no defense from me. It is what it is and makes no apologies to anyone. Yup, Buz Waldmire is politically conservative, but he doesn’t rub anyone’s nose in it and he can carry on a lively conversation with anyone with an opposing viewpoint without foaming at the mouth or insulting the other guys beliefs. As for your remembrance of the place, I suspect you saw the few pro-gun/pro-veteran bumper stickers, and extrapolated them into more than they were. An honest mistake, one we have all made.

More importantly, rather than dwelling on the Cozy Dog or its owners political leanings, we should mention that a mere four blocks north of the Cozy Dog resides the bright yellow trailer of our very own Dr. of BBQ, serving up Springfield’s best ‘Que and possibly its best Roadfood in general. After a quick stop at the Cozy to confirm my memory of the place, we headed two minutes up the road to the Dr.’s location and chowed down on some outstanding rib "trimmings", sausage, rib tips, and a variety of sides (man, he’s got some good beans!).

Thanks again Jack for an excellent meal. It kept us full and happy all the way to Kansas City. See you on the return trip on the 30th.

Buddy

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyRoadhouse

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

I enjoyed the food at Cozy Dog when I stopped in there about 8 years ago. I was, however, extremely turned off by their in-your-face display of xenophobic, far-right political signs and stickers. The walls are completely covered with propaganda. They’ll never get another penny of my money, and I’m guessing that they probably don’t want it. Strange way to run a business, but to each his own.

Well, I made a point of stopping by the Cozy Dog yesterday on our way down to Kansas City. I looked and I looked and I could not find anything that I would consider an "in-your-face display of xenophobic, far-right political signs and stickers".

There are a couple of bumper stickers, hiding way up in a dark corner, under a shelf, espousing Buz’s commitment to the 2nd amendment and his support of veterans, but even an awowed Leftie like me didn’t find them particularly offensive. There was absolutely nothing related to any of the other typically xenpophobic hot button issues like abortion, immigration, gay marriage, flag burning, or any of the other nonsensical hysteria inducing topics that have no effect whatsoever on our daily lives but somehow seem to scare the crap out of some folks.

I would estimate that about %99.999 of the stuff filling the walls (and there’s a lot of stuff!) celebrates Route 66, Ed Waldmire (The Cozy’s founder), Bob (one of Ed’s sons and Buz’s brother) Waldmire’s artwork, and the Cozy Drive In itself. I can live with that ratio.

Buddy

Buddy,

I sincerely appreciate your report, and I retract what I said about never visiting again. Perhaps someone realized that some of their customers were being offended? OR, perhaps I had it all wrong and was remembering a different restaurant? Either situation is possible. If I ever make my way through Springfield again, I will stop in and give Cozy Dog another try.

Pigiron

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

I enjoyed the food at Cozy Dog when I stopped in there about 8 years ago. I was, however, extremely turned off by their in-your-face display of xenophobic, far-right political signs and stickers. The walls are completely covered with propaganda. They’ll never get another penny of my money, and I’m guessing that they probably don’t want it. Strange way to run a business, but to each his own.

Well, I made a point of stopping by the Cozy Dog yesterday on our way down to Kansas City. I looked and I looked and I could not find anything that I would consider an "in-your-face display of xenophobic, far-right political signs and stickers".

There are a couple of bumper stickers, hiding way up in a dark corner, under a shelf, espousing Buz’s commitment to the 2nd amendment and his support of veterans, but even an awowed Leftie like me didn’t find them particularly offensive. There was absolutely nothing related to any of the other typically xenpophobic hot button issues like abortion, immigration, gay marriage, flag burning, or any of the other nonsensical hysteria inducing topics that have no effect whatsoever on our daily lives but somehow seem to scare the crap out of some folks.

I would estimate that about %99.999 of the stuff filling the walls (and there’s a lot of stuff!) celebrates Route 66, Ed Waldmire (The Cozy’s founder), Bob (one of Ed’s sons and Buz’s brother) Waldmire’s artwork, and the Cozy Drive In itself. I can live with that ratio.

Buddy

I’m a cozy dog lifer and i don’t recall anything offensive.

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyRoadhouse Also, his brother, Bob Waldmire is an aging hippie/tree hugger whose Route 66 artwork also adorns much of the wall space. Now I know it’s not uncommon for two brothers to differ politically, but it seems a bit odd that if they were that disparate in their views, that Buz would hang Bob’s nature focused artwork on his walls.

While we were dating, my wife got me a map Bob made for my birthday. That’s not when I proposed, but leaned me in that direction.

iris, did you mean to say you "don’t" recall getting hit in the face…Or am I misunderstanding your post?

Buddy

I stopped at Cozy about 1 1/2 yrs ago on a road trip with kids in tow and recall being "hit in the face" with anything anti-choice, speak english, etc, which are probably things I might have noticed.

We did notice the delish dogs and wonderful root beer, having seconds on everything.

There were some signs by the restrooms about moving from a previous building-
maybe that stuff was up there-
There seemed to be a lot of books and historical type stuff around that I would have had more time to look at without two hyperactive 9 year old (at the time boys and an overly "bored" teenage girl in tow…

At least Hubby was in Route 66 heaven…LOL

Pigiron, like I said, I’m not questioning what you saw. The last time I visited the Cozy was pre-2001. Buz lost the place to his wife around that time and those may be her views; I don’t know. I would like to stop in again, just to get the full picture. We’ve got our annual trip down to KC coming up. Maybe I will drop by and check it out.

Brad, the Dr. of BBQ is open until 8:00pm on weeknights. He may close earlier on Saturday and Sunday.

Buddy

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyRoadhouse

Point #1. Pigiron, I don’t doubt your word about the unfriendly propaganda, however it does seem a bit out of place based on my familiarity with both the Cozy Dog and its one time owner Buz Waldmire. In fact, the last time I was there, he had a selection of Utne Readers in the "public library" reading rack. Not exactly xenophobic, reactionary stuff.

Also, his brother, Bob Waldmire is an aging hippie/tree hugger whose Route 66 artwork also adorns much of the wall space. Now I know it’s not uncommon for two brothers to differ politically, but it seems a bit odd that if they were that disparate in their views, that Buz would hang Bob’s nature focused artwork on his walls.

I know that Buz had to give up the store to his ex-wife in the divorce settlement, but he is still involved and doesn’t seem the type to be that hateful. Admittedly, it’s been a few years since I’ve visited the Cozy Dog. Maybe it’s time for a return trip.

Buddy

Buddy,

You seem to have a lot more knowlege of the place than me, so I trust your description of the proprietors. I’m only reporting on what I saw on my one visit to the place…I believe it was the summer of 2001. I distinctlty remember things like "speak the language or get out" kinda stuff (paraphrasing) and some seriously ugly anti-choice messages. I realize that these messages may or may not represent the beliefs of the owners, but in my mind, I equate the establishment with the messages they choose to display on their walls. Like I said, I only made one visit there a ong time ago, but those negative things made an impression on me.

Point #1. Pigiron, I don’t doubt your word about the unfriendly propaganda, however it does seem a bit out of place based on my familiarity with both the Cozy Dog and its one time owner Buz Waldmire. In fact, the last time I was there, he had a selection of Utne Readers in the "public library" reading rack. Not exactly xenophobic, reactionary stuff.

Also, his brother, Bob Waldmire is an aging hippie/tree hugger whose Route 66 artwork also adorns much of the wall space. Now I know it’s not uncommon for two brothers to differ politically, but it seems a bit odd that if they were that disparate in their views, that Buz would hang Bob’s nature focused artwork on his walls.

I know that Buz had to give up the store to his ex-wife in the divorce settlement, but he is still involved and doesn’t seem the type to be that hateful. Admittedly, it’s been a few years since I’ve visited the Cozy Dog. Maybe it’s time for a return trip.

Point #2. Brad, if you had continued north on Sixth Street for about another quarter to a half a mile, just past the viaduct, you could have had lunch with Roadfood’s very own DR. of BBQ. I and others have spoken very highly of the exceptional ‘Que Jack turns out from his little yellow trailer. If you’re ever down that way again, he is a must stop. You can email him through this site for exact directions to his small corner of the world.

Point #3. chicagostyledog, is there any way you can scale down the photo? It is creating a hard to read thread because of its size. As for the kids in the picture, my money is on it being a real girl. In fact, I’ll bet it is either Buz or Bob Waldmire and a little sister who I’m not familiar with.

Buddy

I enjoyed the food at Cozy Dog when I stopped in there about 8 years ago. I was, however, extremely turned off by their in-your-face display of xenophobic, far-right political signs and stickers. The walls are completely covered with propaganda. They’ll never get another penny of my money, and I’m guessing that they probably don’t want it. Strange way to run a business, but to each his own.

I did Cozy Dog once and it was fine, but I get through Springfield rarely and enjoy Horseshoe sandwiches more.

Keith