by Christine R. Toney

1945 - Joe Rogers opened the Den Chili Parlor at 1125 South Grand Avenue on December 31, New Year's Eve. Note that Joe used the single "l" spelling. Joe offered his chilli with five levels of spicyness: mild, medium, medium-hot, hot and firebrand. Any customer able to finish off a bowl of firebrand was allowed to sign the poster on the wall attesting to his fortitude, his bravery. If one was so brave so as to finish two bowls at one sitting, he had a gold star placed next to his name on the poster. (The posters, many of them with stars, were still on the wall in the spring of 1998 when the South Grand Avenue location was sold.) It was not long until the Den became known as the home of Firebrand Chili. In 1965, Joe opened a second Den at 2901 East Clear Lake Avenue, across from Bergan Golf Course.
1962 - Frank Scully opened the first "Scully's Chilli Parlor" at 1131 North First Street. Prior to this, Scully's Chilli had been served for many years at Andrew's Tavern, at 716 East Enos, by Frank's father.
1963 - The Kohlrus brothers (John, Ed and Louie) began selling frozen chilli under the name K-B Brand Chili from the Kohlrus Food Shop at 1512 North 15th Street. John, a one time Navy cook, noted that the chili was "cooked all together like homemade chili" and that the freezing helped to seal in the flavor.
1968 - March 19th, The State Journal Register published a special section for the newspaper with the headline declaring:

SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS CHILLI CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

  The price of chilli, in March of 1968, varied from a 2 pound carton of K-B Brand for 59 cents, and 39 cents for a No. 2 can of Scully's Famous Firebrand Chili to Ray's Chilli at 3 for a dollar and Chilli Man Chilli at 39 cents for a 20 ounce can.
  There were three chilli canneries in Springfield in 1968, producing more than 4 million cans of chilli annually. Add to this the frozen chilli from K-B and it was reliably said that there were more chilli eaters per capita in Springfield than any other city in the nation.
  Scully's Chilli cannery at 1932 South 17th Street, was sold to Eldon and Dorothy Walden, the owners of Taylor's Chili of Carlinville, Illinois by George Egizii, who had purchased the plant from Frank Scully. Mrs. Walden is the grand-daughter of C.O. Taylor, the founder (in 1904) of Taylor's Chili.
1973 - Joe Rogers, who is credited with saying, "This is the capital of the world for chili...Our poorest grade of chili is better than the best you can buy anywhere else..." passed on to that Great Chilli Kitchen in the Sky on April 26th. Joe's wife, Pauline then became the owner of the Den Chili Parlors. On July 15, 1973, Joe and Paulines' daughter, Marianne, purchased the Den from her mother.
1984 - The original Den Chili Parlor, due to the need for larger quarters, was moved west to 1121 South Grand Avenue, formerly the south branch of the Lincoln Library.
1985 - Marianne sold the Den Chili Parlor, rights and trade-mark to another family on December 31st, 40 years to the day after Joe Rogers opened the original Den. That South Grand Avenue Den was known as "The Last of Springfield's Original Chili Parlors." The new owners had been, since April 1985, the operators of a Den Chili Parlor in Champaign, Illinois. That restaurant was closed in April of 1987. A similar fate would befall the South Grand location in just a few years.
  In November, Kelly Food Products of Decatur, Illinois bought Ray's Brands, maker of Ray's Chilli from Patricia DeFrates, the daughter of Ray DeFrates. Knowing what a productive operation they had, they decided to leave it in Springfield. They also retained the services of Ray's nephew, Bill DeFrates, as plant manger. In 1986, Jim Deere, from Pana, Illinois was appointed as General Manager of Ray's Chilli. Jim would go into competition cooking after a couple of years at the plant, winning numerous chilli cookoffs in the midwest.
1990 - On April 7th, Mike Butchek opened Springfield's first new chili parlor in several years. It was named "Big Mike's Prize Winning Chili." The name was derived from the fact that Mike had been engaged in competition chilli cooking in the Springfield area since 1983, having won numerous cookoffs. In the process he accumulated some 20 or so trophies and plaques to attest to the quality of his chilli.
1993 - Illinois State Senator Karen Harasa introduced Senate Joint Resolution No. 89 in the Illinois General Assembly. This resolution, which was passed unanimously by both houses of the Legislature, proclaimed Illinois as the Chilli Capital of the Civilized World and recognized that the spelling of the delicious comestible is C-H-I-L-L-I. The Governor was further "authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of Illinois to commemorate this designation with appropriate celebrations."
1995 - Rita (Maurer) Patton, the owner of the Dew Chilli Parlor, closed the doors for the last time, ending another era in the chilli history of Springfield.
1996 - Ray's Brands ceased production due to the bankruptcy of its parent company, Kelly Food Products, Inc. Kelly filed for bankruptcy and Ray's was put up for sale. The Coney Island, a fixture at 114 North Sixth Street since 1919 and the restaurant of choice for "greasy" tavern chilli, turns off the lights, allowing the owners a well deserved retirement.
1997 - Ray's Chilli - the label and the recipe - was sold at auction. Mr. Jay Nicole, the president of Ray's Brand Products, Inc., referring to Ray's as "... one of the classic brands," moved the company headquarters, warehouse and distribution center to Decatur and is continuing production of Ray's Chilli.
  The plant canning machinery and miscellaneous parts and equipment in the South 13th Street location were sold separately; the machinery for salvage value only. It was later learned that the canning machinery (assembly line, closing machines, etc.) is now in operation in a plant in Mexico.
1997 - Joe Rogers' Original Recipe Chilli Parlor is opened on July 14th at 820 South Ninth Street by Marianne McKay, the daughter of Joe Rogers (the original owner of the Den Chili Parlor). As did her father before her, Marianne serves chilli with five levels of "heat". If a customer is able to consume a regular size bowl of "Joe Rogers' Special," his/her name is displayed prominently on a large poster on the wall.
1997 - The Coney Island, closed since December 1996, is purchased from the Gekas family by a group of investors headed by local real estate developer, Dennis Polk. After renovations to the building, the restaurant, with the original sign "Serving Plate Lunches - Chilli" proudly swinging over the entrance, reopened on September 24th.
1998 - "The Old Den Meets Its End" read the front page of The State Journal Register on May 20th. Springfield's last original chili parlor had served its last bowl of chili (on Saturday, May 16, 1998). The owners had to think long before agreeing to sell the building. The new owners noted that many of their customers and traffic had shifted to their west side Den Chili Parlor at Parkway Pointe.
1999 - On May 15th, the Den Chili Parlor at Parkway Pointe served its last bowl of chilli and the new owners locked the door on the oldest chilli parlor in Springfield. Business had never really developed at the Parkway Pointe location that they had hoped for. Larry said that he would be looking at other business interests.
  June 21st was a the big day for Fred and Donna Cook. It was the opening day of Cook's Spice Rack and Chilli Parlor. It was a labor of love that had taken two years. Springfield had yet another fine restaurant featuring not just chilli but also a full line of spices and hot sauces. Their menu features five different chillis. In order to allow new customers to sample each one, Donna, with a little nudge, will bring a tray featuring two ounce sample cups of each for the customer's tasting pleasure.