Fred’s Garage, 2016. Image credit: Chicago Tribune.

Fred’s Garage
Fred’s Garage, the restaurant located at 574 Green Bay Rd, is very aptly named. Their address was initially home to a Pure Oil station in the 1930s, and continued to be occupied by motor stations until 2016.

A new motor station was built in 1956 and went through many different names, including Fred’s Union 76 and Fred’s Mobil, until closing 2016. Fred’s Garage (the restaurant) opened in 2017, and paid homage to the history of the building and site by keeping the gas pump canopy, original garage doors, and Mobil Pegasus logo inside the restaurant.

Fred’s Mobil Station, c. 2000.

Mino’s, 2017. Image credit: Village of Winnetka.

Mino’s
Another motor station-turned-food establishment is Mino’s, an Italian restaurant located at 985 Green Bay Rd. Like Fred’s Garage, this address was occupied by a motor servicing station for several decades. Originally the site of a coal and lumber yard, Pure Oil built a one-story automobile filling and greasing station in 1934. That building was torn down, and a Union 76 station was built in 1959 in the same spot.

Pure Oil Union Station at 985 Green Bay Road, 1969.

After a remodel in 1975, local Winnetkan Bob Berger operated the station as Hubbard Woods Motors until 2016 when he retired. Like Fred’s Garage, the station reopened as Mino’s in 2017 and has been a restaurant staple of Winnetka ever since.