I graduated from EIU in Class of 2014. Here's my take on the eating joints in Charleston:
Pagliai's is the best pizza place in town. It's pronounced POLLY-WHYS. Say it wrong, and you'll get railed out of town.
Smokey's has good BBQ. Wish Pop's Carryout BBQ was still open as that ruled the town. But if you like BBQ, Smokey's is it.
Chubby's is still drunk food. I've had it when I was sober. Worst pizza ever. My drunken buddies raved about it.
Jimmy John's is Jimmy John's.
Three Subway's. One on the west end, one on campus and the other in the Wal-Mart on the east side. Subway is Subway.
McDonald's is McDonald's.
There is an A&W on the east side of Charleston on Highway 16 in front of the Wal-Mart. Got a free juke box in there (as far as I know it's there). Actually has some good food.
Ike's was serving food as far as I know. I've ate their food only once and it was good. Sometimes the best food you can find are in bars. Just look at The Eagle's Nest in Addieville and The Nisbet Inn - Home of the World's Coldest Beer.
I wouldn't recommend going to Panther Paw on a Friday night. Best night to go is on a Thursday as they have one dollar cheeseburgers. I ate four of those, two sides of fries and consumed my whole drink during one of my college days. That was a load, even the gals who were with us that night were impressed.
Arby's is right there on the corner across from campus, but I prefer Smokey's over Arby's.
If you like Chinese, there is a QQ Buffet on the east side, just next door to Wal-Mart. I ate there several times and liked it.
There is a Dairy Queen in the downtown part of Charleston, just over to the west. It's NOT on 16 so be aware of that. I also believe Roc's is still open.
I was just there for Homecoming on Saturday for a few hours. Didn't see all of Charleston though. Hope this helps. As the others have stated, Marty's, Panther Paw and Ike's are still open. Jerry's was torn down about a year/two years ago. I didn't care much for it. Didn't think their pizza was that good.