Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, Springfield, IL

From the moment customers enter the restaurant and museum, they are transported back in time with a collection of period road signs, Route 66 artifacts, a bar with beer taps mounted on the rear ends of vintage cars, and even a 1969 Chevy Camaro hoisted onto the rafters.

Located in a 14,000 sq. ft. building that once served as a Stuckey’s roadside restaurant, Motorheads was built to be a one-of-a-kind venue by founder Ron Metzger. In addition to the restaurant and museum, Metzger wanted Motorheads to be a fun place to watch a game, see a NASCAR race, and hear local and national bands perform.

Never one to do things halfway, Metzger reached out to Ace Sign Company to install a direct-view LED video wall at Motorheads to give the venue a flexible way to showcase sports and bands. Ace Sign Company specified a high-resolution video display from Watchfire.

“We take great pride in the signs we create and are trusted by our customers to do great work. We work with Watchfire because we know their displays are reliable and are built to last,” said Scott Bringuet, chief experience officer at Ace Sign Company, which also was tapped by Metzger to create the world’s largest Route 66 logo sign on the Motorheads property.

The video wall serves as a focal point at Motorheads and is large enough to be divided into several regions to broadcast multiple sporting events at one time. In addition, the video wall can be used to advertise food and drink specials and events, and even has been used to showcase photos during a memorial gathering.

When bands are visiting, the video wall becomes a digital backdrop for concerts. Bands use the video wall to display their logos and increasingly take advantage of the technology by producing their own videos that are played on the display.

“No one else in the area has anything like this,” said Metzger. “The video wall is really beautiful and gives us a flexible way to entertain people with events, music videos, games, and concerts. It adds to the ambiance at Motorheads and creates even more excitement.”

Eventually, Metzger envisions being able to sell advertising for local businesses on the display.