THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2008

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Paying It Back

Arlington Heights Woman Sends Check To Choo Choo Restaurant For Lunch Bill Not Paid Over 30 Years Ago

By TODD WESSELL

Journal & Topics Editor

Long before Jean Paxton took over ownership of the famed Choo Choo Restaurant in downtown Des Plaines, two generations of local residents marveled at the small eatery known for its "hamburgers on wheels".

Since the mid-1950s, grandparents and parents have brought youngsters into the restaurant to order their food and drinks and then wait for the sound of the whistle and sight of the model train whisking their orders on the tiny rails.

Approximately five months ago, Paxton got the surprise of her life when a letter arrived in the mail from a grandmother living in Arlington Hts. The woman related a story that left the owner of the Choo Choo not only awestruck but to a degree numb.

"The woman said in the letter that every time she drives by the Choo Choo she feels guilty about something that happened 30 years ago," Paxton explained. Included in the letter was a check for $30. The woman told the story about when she and her daughter had visited the restaurant one day 30 years ago for lunch and in a moment of unexplained haste left without paying the bill.

The $30 check, the woman related, will not only pay for the bill but include "a little something extra".

She apologized for leaving without paying.

Said Paxton, owner of the Choo Choo for the last seven years, "I didn't know what to do. I got the letter around New Year's and kept the check in a drawer."

About a month ago, Paxton said she deposited the check thinking that failing to do so might cause problems with the woman's checkbook accounting.

"I just couldn't take the money," Paxton continued. "So I sent her a $30 gift certificate."