Wilmington artist painting mural outside Diamond restaurant

A family-owned restaurant, the Whistle Stop Café in Diamond, soon will sport a whimsical, 8-foot-by-100-foot mural near its entrance thanks to a Wilmington artist and frequent patron.

Diamond is a village in both Will County and Grundy County.

Terri Ellinger of Wilmington said in an email that she started working on the mural May 28, sketching the design and getting some initial painting completed.

Ellinger said that the overall design of “an old-time train” across the front of the building, as well the mountains, was an idea brought forward by Whistle Stop Cafe manager Stacy Morales.

“I then came up with the design of the train, and I added a depot and flowers, hills,” Ellinger said in the email.

Ellinger is painting parts of the mural with exterior latex enamel and other parts with exterior oil-based paint. She plans to complete the mural by the end of June.

Morales said that she had the idea for a mural on the exterior of the restaurant after seeing others that had them.

Ellinger said that she heard the owners were seeking a muralist while she was talking to “one particular waitress who is especially friendly, hardworking and cares very much about her regular patrons who come in.”

“Somehow, I brought up [that] I did artwork for a living, and I showed her some of my artwork that I have on Facebook on my cellphone,” Ellinger said. “A few weeks later, she came up to me saying the owner would like an outside mural done and [asked] if I was interested.”

Ellinger said that she was “hired on the spot after I showed Stacy [Morales] some of my artwork, and I was asked if I ever have done a mural before.”

She said, ‘That’s what I do,’ and she brought some beautiful work that she did. And I’m like, ‘You’re hired.’”

—  Stacy Morales, manager of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Diamond

Morales said that she is thrilled with the results so far.

“She has been the greatest lady; she really has,” Morales said. “She works hard.”

Morales said that she really wanted a mural on the café's exterior but didn’t know anyone who painted murals. She said Ellinger was a regular customer, and a staff member started talking to Ellinger about the mural idea.

“She said, ‘That’s what I do,’ and she brought some beautiful work that she did,” Morales said. “And I’m like, ‘You’re hired.’ ”

‘You feel like you are going home to a home-cooked meal’

Ellinger learned about the Whistle Stop Café a year ago when she searched online for area restaurants.

“The Whistle Stop Cafe was one of them, and it mentioned homemade meals,” Ellinger said. “I and a friend decided to give them a try.”

Ellinger said that she loved the food, the atmosphere and, most importantly, the “super friendly” owners and staff, who are “kind toward all their patrons.”

“You feel like you are going home to a home-cooked meal where you are so welcomed,” Ellinger wrote in the email. “And you leave feeling good and full.”

Morales said the Whistle Stop Café has been in her family a long time.

“My mom (the late Virginia Sharer) opened it up in 2004,” Morales said. “And then we bought it from her in 2011.”

Morales said the Whistle Stop Café offers a full menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She said food is homemade and made per order. Her husband, Juan “Lou” Morales, has cooked professionally for 30 years.

The Whistle Stop Café is very “kid-friendly,” Stacy Morales said, and that will be reflected in Ellinger’s mural.

“I do a breakfast with Santa. I do a breakfast with the Easter bunny. We do free magic shows for the kids,” Stacy Morales said. “On Thanksgiving, we do a Thanksgiving meal that is totally free. We do catering, too – weddings, funerals, anything. So come on down. We welcome everybody. My sister makes pies and cheesecakes, all homemade.”

‘I appreciate being asked for this project’

Ellinger said that she agreed to paint the mural as her personal challenge.

“I have painted around four murals, but they were all inside, and the last one was around 12 years ago for a church’s Sunday school,” Ellinger said in the email. “I have painted a landscape and an ice cream social mural for a nursing home, a tropical rainforest for an employer’s son’s bedroom, and my own art room with woods and animals.

The Whistle Stop Café mural was Ellinger’s first outdoor mural, and it was her largest one, Ellinger said.

“Plus, I really like going here and feeling so welcomed every time,” Ellinger said in the email.

Although Ellinger is enjoying the project, she said she probably won’t tackle another mural. However, she said she’ll continue to create fine art paintings – her preferred mediums are watercolors, pencil, ink and colored pencils – from her home studio.

“But I appreciate being asked for this project and will see it through – and hope it comes out really nice,” Ellinger said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The Whistle Stop Cafe

WHEN: 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Saturday

WHERE: 2080 E Division St., Diamond

INFO: Call 815-634-2360 or visit facebook.com/whistlestopcafe04.