Updated below
My informant tells me that on Tuesday evening, May 20, the venerable Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma, burned to the ground. All that remains are the outer stone walls holding up sections of a collapsing roof.
The Rock was a quaint little place in the sleepy town of Stroud, Oklahoma, where once-busy Route 66 passed through as the premiere highway for those heading west. Now, of course, 66 has been replaced by the interstate system and most of the towns once served by the old route have languished.
I ate at The Rock Cafe only once, and had the fried tomatoes and pink lemonade. The proprietor, Dawn Welch, was happy to regale me with tales of being the inspiration for the character “Sally Carrera” in the Pixar movie “Cars”.
My thanks to Coaster for the update.
Read more here.
Updated June 2009: Dawn has reopened the Rock! Here’s a link to her blog.