Midpoint Cafe is sold

The Midpoint Cafe, located on the midpoint of Route 66 in Adrian, Texas, has been sold, a little less than a year after longtime owner Fran Houser announced she was putting it on the market.

I wasn’t able to contact Houser on Monday night, but I received an email from a longtime Route 66er who said Houser wanted me to know about the sale, and that she is “very excited.”

Houser said in May 2011 she was putting the restaurant on the block, with an asking price of $195,000. Houser had been the owner for 20 years.

At the time, Houser said although she still enjoyed meeting with Route 66 travelers, she and longtime helper Joann Harwell had encountered physical problems in recent years. Houser said a visit with her daughter last spring convinced her to travel more and do other things “while I have time.”

The Midpoint's longtime owner, Fran Houser.

The Midpoint, formerly known as Jesse’s Cafe, attracted nationwide notice for the restaurant’s small-town hospitality and its delicious “ugly crust pies.” Houser also gained fame when she served as an inspiration to the Flo character in the original Disney-Pixar “Cars” movie in 2006.

Houser previously said she planned to open a western-wear store in an old gas station next to the Midpoint Cafe after the restaurant changes hands. “I don’t want to lose contact with the Route 66 people,” she said.

I’ll have more details about this when I can get it …

UPDATE: The new owner of the Midpoint is Dennis Purschwitz, an engineer from Thompsons Station, Tenn., near Nashville. The closing of the sale occurred on Monday.

Houser, in a phone interview Tuesday morning, said she met Purschwitz and his wife about the time Houser was about to put the restaurant for sale in April. He called later that summer, inquiring whether it was for sale. Once he made a commitment to buying it, Purschwitz has traveled to Adrian about a half-dozen times, Houser said.

“I’m so thrilled,” Houser said. “He is so enthusiastic. He has a version for the Midpoint, and will be able to put all his energy into it.”

Houser said Joann Harwell would remain with the restaurant to make its famous “ugly crust pies.”

Houser said she kept the gas station next door, and will use it as a business to sell Texas-only items.

“I need something to keep me in the loop and involved on Route 66,” she said. “And I want to be there for him when the (Route 66) tours come through later this year. It’s going to be smooth transition.”

Now that Houser is a former restaurant owner, she said she’ll soon have time to travel Route 66 herself for the first time in years. “By this time next year, I hope to meet all the people I’ve heard about.”

(Photos courtesy of Guy Randall)

5 thoughts on “Midpoint Cafe is sold

  1. The Road is ever changing. Let’s hope this change is for the better……Fran will be missed!!! But it’s hard not to understand her desire to try new things and her desire to travel more!

  2. You go FLO! Best wishes and best of luck, we look forward to visiting you in the new store soon…

  3. Congratulations to both Fran and Dennis! We are so glad we got here in time to meet Fran, and will continue sending eastbound Blue Swallow guests to Adrian for breakfast, lunch, or PIE. We look forward to seeing both of you in Adrian sometime soon!

  4. As a old collegue of Dennis’, I am so happy for him. He will be a wonderful owner and boss. GOOD LUCK DENNIS!

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