In August of 1873 it was announced that a dining room would open at Bloomington's C & A station for the convenience of travelers. Some were skeptical of the efficacy or desirableness of this move, since it reflected the discontinuation of the Pullman dining cars on the train. It seems that there was a slice of the riding public who appreciated the romance and elegance of dining in the Pullman cars. (I note that the location where I found the attached drawing attributes this drawing to the "first" pullman dining cars in 1877, but this Pantagraph article clearly refers to Pullman dining cars existing in 1873.)
Under the new regime, the train would stop at the station for twenty minutes in order for passengers to have ample time to find a bite to eat. Food on the train was considered to be expensive and meals in the dining room were purported to be much cheaper.