Galaxy Diner in Flagstaff apparently closes for good

The Galaxy Diner, a Route 66 fixture in Flagstaff, Arizona, for more than 60 years, apparently closed permanently last month after it shuttered temporarily for renovations.

The Arizona Daily Sun published a story about the closure this week:

For a restaurant known for its loud mid-century charm, the closure was a quiet one, marked only by a paper sign and a locked door.
The note, which seemed to replace another sign about how the diner was merely closed for renovations, was from the restaurant’s landlord, a San Francisco-based investment company called TAM Holdings.
According to the note, the diner closed and its lease was terminated because the owner, Tempe-based company JB’s Restaurants, had not paid its rent.

The Lumberjack, the student newspaper for Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, first reported Aug. 30 about the Galaxy Diner at 931 W. Route 66 closing Aug. 2.

According to a notice posted on the business’s door, “the Landlord has no intention of asserting its landlord’s lien against the property of any party in bankruptcy, or any party not a tenant, subtenant or assignee under the Lease Agreement, and upon proper proof of ownership, will relinquish possession of such property.” […]
Openshaw also added that the employees of the chain were unaware of the business’s closure and were not informed until a week prior. Management themselves were also not too sure what to anticipate for the business’s future.

A perusal of Yelp reviews revealed the quality of food and service nosedived this year.

The Daily Sun stated the restaurant opened in 1958, but the retro decor wasn’t added until 1994.

Jim Hinckley’s “The Route 66 Encyclopedia” reports it opened in 1952. The book stated “it remained a near-perfect time capsule of the local diner eclipsed by chain restaurants and franchises beginning in the late 1950s.”

(Hat tip to Jenny McGinnis; an image of the Galaxy Diner in Flagstaff, Arizona, by paul stumpr via Flickr)