The Chicken Shack restaurant in Luther, Oklahoma, recently finished its move down Route 66 to Arcadia, Oklahoma.
The Chicken Shack announced the move was complete in a Facebook post:
The restaurant’s owner, Eddy Gochenour, announced the move 7 1/2 miles to the west earlier this year.
He is leasing a portion of the defunct Hillbillee’s restaurant in Arcadia from the Aubrey McClendon estate. McClendon, who shepherded the building of the iconic POPS in Arcadia and owned other property there, died in a car crash in 2016.
Gochenour said the new digs give a chance to add more indoor dining, something that was largely missing from the Luther property.
Hillbillee’s once was a Phillips 66 gas station along Route 66 that dated to the 1930s. The pumps were removed by the 1980s, and it became Larry’s BBQ for a while.
Veteran Route 66 travelers likely will remember Hillbillee’s, which featured a full-service restaurant and a faux Wild West strip that served as overnight guest rooms and even a wedding reception venue, starting in 1993.
Hillbillee’s closed in 2007 after co-owner Wade Braxton encountered serious health issues. McClendon purchased the property as a place for construction workers to eat while POPS was being built. A business or two rented space in one of the buildings, but nothing big took hold.
(Image of The Chicken Shack sign via Facebook)