What memories of the Shrine do Belleville’s faithful cherish most? The restaurant, mostly
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Metro-east faithful value The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville as a place of peace and solace.
They also love The Way of the Lights, which illuminates the darkened roads that wind through the Shrine’s roughly 200 acres with more than 1.5 million twinkling bulbs each year around Christmas.
But they miss the restaurant, which closed in June of 2020, the casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shrine regulars shared their memories of Our Lady of the Snows on social media following a historical retrospective published by the BND. Their comments ranged from the weekly novenas to their favorite dish from the restaurant’s famous soup-and-salad bar.
Here’s what some of them said:
“Miss it all!!! My mom, Elsie, was a fixture in the restaurant. She worked as their #1 hostess for a very long time….Before the restaurant closed, people asked for her and remembered her smile and genorousity (sic) even after she retired!!!”
“I loved driving thru the snowy path at night to see the lights at Christmas. It was so still.”
“I loved their soup and salad bar and went there often with friends. Sometimes some of my classmates would meet on a given day for lunch. We even had one of our big class reunions of 1954 there. The food was always good”
“They had the best salad bar.”
“Many wonderful memories/ cherished Holy moments with Family and Friends”
“Wedding pictures in 1963”
“I miss working in the restaurant!!! Was definitely one of my favorite restaurants and my boss Marsha Goodnick taught me sooo much that I’ve used in my career over the years!! Was an awesome place to work with amazing staff!! I soooo wish they would’ve kept it going!! It is definitely sadly missed for sure!!”
“Do they still have novenas in the summer?” (they do)
“The Philly cheesesteak soup.... I’d give my right arm for that recipe.”
“the soups (heart, heart, heart)“
