The restaurant business literally grew out of the advent of the Lincoln Highway here in downtown Van Wert. Featured here is an old and still-lighted neon sign; it beckons travelers to stop and discover fried chicken and homemade pies, just as it did in 1924.

Van Wert used to be a bustling, busy town. Main Street on Saturdays was active with farmers coming to town and shop owners all willing to sell them whatever they needed (and didn't). Ballyeat's was much more than what one would consider a coffee shop today. It was and still is, a restaurant. In the middle 1970s the front was remodeled, updated for the times and made more stylish. Back then the town's building permit department wanted the sign removed because they said it was so old-fashioned but the owner could barely afford to remodel the front let alone replace a good-working sign. Today, the new people at city hall would like the front removed and made back to the way it used to look. They say it will add more old-fashioned appeal to Main Street. They want the sign to stay.