Rock Cafe, historic Route 66 landmark, to reopen in Stroud, Oklahoma
The Rock Cafe in Stroud was damaged in a fire last spring but will re-open Friday. (Photo by Paul B. Southerland/The Oklahoman Archives)
Sally Carrera from “Cars” Guy Fieri John Lasseter
The historic Stroud landmark the Rock Cafe will re-open Friday, owner Dawn Welch has confirmed for NewsOK.
The iconic Route 66 eatery was damaged by fire on May 20, 2008. Welch promised to reopen the restaurant, which has served celebrities including Robert Plant, Bryant Gumbel and “Simpsons” creator Matt Groenig.
Welch was the inspiration for the blue Porsche Sally Carrera in the 2006 Pixar animated movie “Cars,” which pays tribute to Route 66.
In his recent conversation with Food Network personality Guy Fieri, our own Food Dude Dave Cathey learned that Pixar chief and “Cars” writer-director John Lasseter has vowed to replace the cafe’s Pixar artwork that was lost in the fire.
Fieri previously featured the Rock Cafe on his hit foodie road show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” which was in Oklahoma recently to highlight some other state eateries.
Personally, I can’t wait to get back to the Rock Cafe for one of their great, juicy burgers, so I think this is great news.
Speaking of Pixar, check out my retrospective on the animation studio, which includes a slideshow with fun facts about all 10 of Pixar’s films, and my review of the new movie “Up” on Friday here at the blog.
-BAM
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Comments
me and several friends drove RT 66 from LA to Chicago last year (May 29/June8,2008)and the Rock Cafe was on our list of stops. You can’t imagine how sad we were when we got there last year a week after the fire. I’m so happy the cafe was able to open.
Route 66 vacation was one of the best I’ve ever taken.
Best of luck Dawn!
Can anybody tell me whether or not the original stone facade was able to be used on the new building? I just watch the triple D that featured the Rock Cafe this past weekend and just learned of the fire.
This place looks like such a fun place to stop! Ive been through Oklahoma before but I want to travel there again and now I have somewhere else on my list I want to stop!