The Midpoint Café, a
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
,
souvenir
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
and
antique shop
An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online.
An antiques shop can also be located within an anti ...
on
US Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
in
Adrian, Texas, bills itself as geographically the midway point between
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
on historic
Route 66. Signage in Adrian proudly declares a 1139-mile distance to each original US 66 endpoint;
the café's slogan is "when you're here, you're halfway there".
Fran Houser, owner of the Midpoint Café from 1990 until 2012, is the basis for
Flo of "Flo's V-8 Café" in ''
Cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
''.
History
The café, built in 1928 and expanded in 1947, operated 24 hours a day during Route 66's heyday
and is the oldest continuously operating Route 66 café between
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
and
Tucumcari, New Mexico
Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay Count ...
.
Its origins can be traced to a one-room, dirt-floor brick café known as Zella's, built by Jeannie VanderWort and leased to Zella Crim. The restaurant changed hands several times.
Dub Edmunds and Jesse Fincher acquired the property in 1956, operating it and an adjacent
filling station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoli ...
as Jesse's Café until 1976. It became well known for its hot, fresh home-made pies.
Adrian was bypassed by
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
in 1969, leading to an abrupt decline in traffic through the village.
Interstate 40 in Texas
In the US state of Texas, Interstate 40 (I-40) runs west–east through the panhandle in the northwest part of the state. The only large city it passes through is Amarillo, where it meets the north end of I-27.
History
Before the U.S. Hi ...
replaced US 66 in-place except within individual towns, which were bypassed by retaining the old main street as a
business loop
A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...
. Most of Route 66 in Texas was turned into
frontage road
A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drivew ...
for the new
Interstate highway
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
or disappeared entirely.
As business declined, the local Adrian population dropped to approximately 220 in the late 20th century and an estimated 149 in 2008.
The café was sold in 1976 to Terry and Peggy Creitz as Peggy's Café; a subsequent owner changed the name to Rachel's. Fran Houser purchased the business, naming it the Adrian Café, in 1990.
Her original plan was to establish an
antique shop
An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online.
An antiques shop can also be located within an anti ...
at the site.
Renaissance
Efforts to put "Historic Route 66" back on the map date to 1987, with
Angel Delgadillo
Angel Delgadillo (born April 19, 1927) is an American barber and businessowner in Seligman, Arizona who has been dubbed the "guardian angel" of U.S. Route 66. He is the main founder of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, established i ...
's Arizona Historic
Route 66 Association
Route 66 Association is the generic name of the non-profit associations established for preservation, restoration and promotion of the historic U.S. Route 66. They exist in all 8 Route 66 states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New ...
obtaining historic signage on
Arizona State Route 66
State Route 66 (SR 66) is a surface road in the U.S. state of Arizona in Mohave and Coconino Counties. In 1914, the road was designated "National Old Trails Highway" but in 1926 was re-designated as U.S. Route 66. In 1985, U.S. Route 66 was dro ...
. Other US Route 66 states soon followed, using the "Route 66" brand to attract visitors from as far afield as
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
The Midpoint Café's current name and identity were adopted in 1995 on the advice of travel author and US Route 66 Association founder Tom Snyder.
The shop began selling antiques on
consignment by 1997
alongside its "nostalgia food" menu of breakfasts, hamburgers and the homemade desserts which it calls "Ugly Crust Pies". The term "ugly crust" was coined by Joann Harwell, Midpoint Café's pastry chef, who would create various tasty, freshly baked pies (pecan, chocolate chip, apple, lemon meringue and chocolate) using her grandmother's recipe, only to lament that the crusts looked better when her grandmother had made the same pies years ago.
In 2001, the roadside café received a visit from
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...
. Fifteen people in a group of rented
longhorn Cadillac limousines meticulously photographed landmarks and interviewed Route 66 personalities in five US states, including the between
Peach Springs, Arizona
, native_name_lang = hu
, settlement_type = Census-designated place
, image_skyline = Peach Springs-John Osterman Shell Gas Station-1929.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = John Osterman Shell ...
and
Baxter Springs, Kansas
Baxter Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, and located along Spring River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,888.
History
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples had lived along the waterwa ...
. This research was the basis for the town of
Radiator Springs
Radiator Springs is a fictional small Arizona town and the principal setting of the Disney/Pixar franchise ''Cars''. A composite of multiple real-world locations on the historic U.S. Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles, it is most prominently fe ...
in the 2006
animated film
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
''
Cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
''.
The
Flo,
Mia and Tia characters, based on Midpoint Café proprietor Fran Houser and two servers at the restaurant – sisters Mary Lou and Christina Mendez – appear in the film at "Flo's V-8 Café". As a
drive-in restaurant
A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...
for
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
cars, the
automotive-themed Flo's V-8 Café became a
filling station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoli ...
which boasts "the finest fuel on Route 66". Fran Houser and the Midpoint Café as "home of the ugly crust pie" are acknowledged in the film's credits. The
Disney California Adventure
Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...
park returns the café as a conventional restaurant, reinstating the legendary "ugly crust pie" recipe to the menu.
Fran Houser retired from the café in 2012, retaining the adjacent former filling station for use as Sunflower Station, an antique and
souvenir shop
A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collec ...
to continue to serve seasonal travellers on US Route 66.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midpoint Cafe
Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66
Restaurants established in 1928
Restaurants in Texas
U.S. Route 66 in Texas
1928 establishments in Texas