Local Legends: Survey Reveals Illinois’ 4 Favorite Main Street Businesses.

• Survey of 3,004 of local, independent businesses.
• Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery in Champaign ranked #1 in Illinois.
• Infographic.

Every town has one. That place. The kind of spot where the receipts are still handwritten, the cookies taste like your childhood, and the staff know your name – and probably your dog’s too. These aren’t sleek franchises or start-ups chasing IPOs. They’re local businesses. Comfortably worn, deeply local, and stubbornly independent.

To celebrate these unsung heroes of hometown pride, MarketBeat.com, a financial media company, polled 3,004 locals to find out: Which classic, independently owned business defines your hometown? Illinois’ top 4 were as follows:

#1. Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery, Champaign
Local cheese, farm dinners, and baby goats come spring — this small farm has a big following. The chèvre’s legendary, and the gelato’s not far behind.

#2. Margie’s Candies, Chicago
Step inside and it’s still 1921 — Tiffany lamps, high-backed booths, and sundaes the size of your head. Al Capone was once a regular, but these days it’s families and first dates.

#3. Busy Corner Restaurant, Goodfield
Halfway between Peoria and Bloomington, this family-run diner is known statewide for its pie. Farmers, truckers, and road-trippers all agree: coconut cream’s the one to beat.

#4. Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville
Anderson’s isn’t just a bookstore — it’s a neighborhood institution where generations of kids met their favorite authors. You walk in for one title, leave with five, and maybe a signed copy.

Infographic showing the 220 most loved independent main street businesses in the country

Matt Paulson, founder of MarketBeat.com, says: “Many of these businesses have survived changing tastes, rising rents, and the convenience of two-day shipping. Why? Because they offer something irreplaceable: heart. You don’t go to these places just to shop – you go to feel like you belong.”