Former Cafe on the Route is up for sale

Cafe on the Route, Baxter Springs, KS

The historic building in Baxter Springs, Kansas, best-known as the former home of Cafe on the Route, apparently has been put up for sale, based on a slick video and website touting the property.

The website’s name uses property’s address, 1101 Military Ave.

Moment Media, based in nearby Miami, Oklahoma, produced this well-made video, including drone footage.

1101 Military Ave. Baxter Springs, KS from Moment Media on Vimeo.

The 9,000-square-foot building lists for $450,000, which includes the restaurant equipment. The restaurant and exterior underwent extensive renovations in 2015. The building, constructed in 1879, remains the city’s oldest brick structure.

The building became known for years as Cafe on the Route, where chef Richard Sanell served creative dishes that drew the attention of Guy Fieri and his “Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives” show on the Food Network.

But Cafe on the Route abruptly closed on New Year’s Eve 2012. Reports indicted Sanell became overextended after opening two more restaurants in the region that also closed about the same time. According to online property records, it was foreclosed in June 2014.

New owner Tim Potter of Miami, Oklahoma, reopened the restaurant in late 2014, but I’d heard it closed again less than a year later.

(Video-image capture of Cafe on the Route in Baxter Springs, Kansas)

6 thoughts on “Former Cafe on the Route is up for sale

  1. So much value has been lost with the extended closures. Now the business is offered for sale in the midst of the tourist season. It’s highly unlikely that locals can provide enough business to support payment of debt based on $450,000 asking price. As a practicing CPA, I constantly witness the disconnect between what owners think their business or property is worth, and reality. This scenario is being played out in public in Wilmington, IL over The Launching Pad, home of the Gemini Giant. There, the owner wants $450,000 for a long-closed and deteriorating business. Bidders at auction offered $177,500. The restaurant remains unsold and closed mostly due to a stubborn owner.

  2. I clicked on the link to watch the promotional video for this property. Inside the restaurant is a generic decorating scheme that is completely silent about Route 66. This surprised me, given the mural on the long (north) side of the building and the plaque designating the place as a Route 66 roadside attraction. As this building is a prominent landmark in Baxter Springs for westbound tourists, a new owner should consider tying the decorating, marketing, and perhaps the fare to a Route 66 theme.

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