Food Mart/Liquor Store - "Same Old Lang Syne" - Peoria, IL - Immortalized in Lyrics on Waymarking.com

In Peoria, at the corner of Prospect Street and East Frye Ave, is a Food Mart in a strip mall, which was the location mentioned in Dan Fogelberg's song, "Auld Lang Syne."

The Food Mart is on the southeast corner of the intersection, which has a traffic light, and a few blocks south of Glen Oaks Park. The building is on the west end of the block of stores. The store currently is both a convenient store and a 'packy' store. A source identified the location as 1302 East Frye Avenue, which is here. The street has an honorary name - Fogelberg Parkway.

The song mentioned is one of the most well-known songs that Dan Fogelberg has written and performed. It is a semi-autobiographical account of a meeting with an old girlfriend. The lines that pertain to the Food Mart are as follows:

"...We went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car.
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now And tried to reach beyond
the emptiness But neither one knew how..."

Dan Fogelberg grew up in this section of Peoria and graduated from Woodruff High School, located a couple blocks south of here. The story as told from a couple sources is that Dan had come back to his hometown for the holidays and was buying whipped cream for the Irish Coffees he was making at his parents' house, when he met an ex-girlfriend there. They tried finding a bar but, being Christmas Eve, they couldn't find one, so they went to the liquor store to get a six-pack of beer. The events in the song generally describe what happened, but some of the details were changed, probably for a better story. The store probably changed since when Dan was there - it is now a Short Stop - Food Mart.

I have been told by a resident in this area that it is probably safe during the day - night may be risky - and I understand if you take a picture from your car in the parking lot.

Lyrics:
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Audio Tour:
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Musician: Dan Fogelberg Name of Song: Same Old Lang Syne Relevant Verse: "...We went to have ourselves a drink or two But couldn't find an open bar We bought a six-pack at the liquor store And we drank it in her car. We drank a toast to innocence We drank a toast to now And tried to reach beyond the emptiness But neither one knew how..." Location website: [Web Link]

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