Route 66 landmark Rock Cafe reopens in Stroud
The Rock Cafe reopened Friday, a year after the Stroud landmark was damaged in a fire. (Photo by Ashley McKee/The Oklahoman)
From left, Dawn Welch of the Rock Cafe and Sally Carrera, the “Cars” character based on her.
The Oklahoman’s Food Dude Dave Cathey has written an excellent story about the reopening of the historic Rock Cafe and its tenacious owner Dawn Welch.
The Route 66 landmark reopened last Friday after being damaged by fire a year earlier. The Stroud cafe was reopened within the distinctive rock walls built in 1938-39.
Welch ended up buying the cafe when she stopped in Stroud for a visit. She never intended to stay, but has been living in the small town and running the cafe since 1993.
When Pixar director John Lasseter and his team came through on Route 66 doing research for the 2006 film “Cars,” he was inspired by Welch’s story. He created the Porsche character Sally Carrera based on Welch’s life.
She also made an impression on Food Network personality Guy Fieri when the chef featured The Rock on “Diners, Drive-ins & Dives.”
“Dawn is just amazing,” Fieri told the Food Due during an Oklahoma City visit last month. “She’s just a dynamo. It’s so tragic what happened out there, but I know if anyone can get through it, it’s Dawn.”
Read Dave’s full story on the reopened Rock Cafe by clicking here.
-BAM
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