Workers from Ace Sign Co. on Friday returned The Tropics sign, now restored, to its original home in Lincoln, Illinois. An official relighting ceremony will occur the evening of June 24. A staffer for The Herald-News took photos of workers reinstalling the sign. A slide show of images are in this YouTube video. https://youtu.be/4iC7-6udNa4 The … Continue reading The Tropics sign returns to Lincoln
Category: Restaurants
Route 66 Motorheads bar offered sales-tax rebate for being annexed
Route 66 Motorheads Bar, Grill and Museum may receive up to a $25,000 sales-tax rebate in exchange for being annexed into the city of Springfield, Illinois. The bar part of the business, which opened Friday, will open its restaurant next month. Route 66 Motorheads sits at 600 Toronto Road and would use the rebate money to … Continue reading Route 66 Motorheads bar offered sales-tax rebate for being annexed
Longtime owner of Jamil’s restaurant in Tulsa dies
Tyrone Elias, owner of the landmark Jamil's restaurant in Tulsa for about 40 years, died Friday after a short illness. He was 80. Jamil's, which sits off Interstate 44 (aka Oklahoma 66) in Tulsa, boasted other ties to the Mother Road during its history. According to an obituary in the Tulsa World: Elias was born … Continue reading Longtime owner of Jamil’s restaurant in Tulsa dies
Racial slur once used to promote Route 66 restaurant
This week, the Daily Progress newspaper in Claremore, Oklahoma, began a series about two local African-American sports teams before desegregation -- the Claremore Clowns baseball team and the Lincoln School state championship boys basketball team. In the first part, former local athlete Gerome Riley talked about the whites-only, blacks-only era of the 1940s and early 1950s: … Continue reading Racial slur once used to promote Route 66 restaurant
Tropical attire encouraged for The Tropics sign relighting
Organizers of the relighting of The Tropics neon sign on June 24 in Lincoln, Illinois, are encouraging attendees to wear tropical-style clothing for the event. A news release from the Tropics Campaign Relighting Committee states activities will begin at 7:15 p.m. that day with a pre-event reception at the McDonald's parking lot at 1007 Hickox … Continue reading Tropical attire encouraged for The Tropics sign relighting
Coffee shop in St. Louis uses 70-year-old auto-repair shop
Blueprint Coffee this month is opening a second St. Louis site in a 1940s-era auto-repair shop not far from the Route 66 landmarks Ted Drewes Frozen Custard and Donut Drive-In. Blueprint Coffee opened in 2013 in the Delmar Loop area of west St. Louis. The second place, opening in June, sits at 4206 Watson Road … Continue reading Coffee shop in St. Louis uses 70-year-old auto-repair shop
Grand Canyon Caverns transformed into multitiered business
Grand Canyon Caverns has become an example of a classic Route 66 business that not only has survived, but thrived amid an expansion of its offerings in the last 15-plus years. Over the Memorial Day weekend, the complex west of Seligman, Arizona, introduced scenic helicopter flights, now offers river-rafting tours and finished a modernization of bathrooms … Continue reading Grand Canyon Caverns transformed into multitiered business
Fire damages Iron Hog Restaurant and Saloon in Oro Grande
An early morning fire Friday gutted the kitchen of the Iron Hog Restaurant and Saloon, a favorite watering hole for motorcyclists and Route 66 travelers going through Oro Grande, California. According to the Victorville Daily Press: The blaze erupted at the shuttered saloon, located at 20848 National Trails Highway, at 5:39 a.m. Friday. It spread … Continue reading Fire damages Iron Hog Restaurant and Saloon in Oro Grande
Taco King in Upland is up for sale
The Taco King restaurant along Route 66 in Upland, California -- famed for its old-school neon sign -- recently was put up for sale with an asking price of almost $1.5 million. According to The Daily Bulletin, longtime owners Luis and Maria Horta want to sell the place by the end of 2018, then retire. They've … Continue reading Taco King in Upland is up for sale
Fire ravages Magnuson Hotel in Holbrook
Fire heavily damaged the Magnuson Hotel Adobe along Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona, and likely is a total loss. It was the city's second hotel fire in a week. The hotel at 615 W. Hopi Ave. (aka Route 66) caught fire Sunday morning after a nearby trailer reportedly went ablaze. Seven fire departments fought the … Continue reading Fire ravages Magnuson Hotel in Holbrook