The historic Bent Door along old Route 66 in Adrian, Texas, has been closed for years. However, a couple purchased the property on July 21, and they say they’re committed to reopening it as a diner / malt shop again.
Linda Drake of the Oldham County Chamber of Commerce helped put me in touch with new owners Roy and Ramona Kiewert of Nacogdoches, Texas. The Kiewerts e-mailed me on what they plan to do with it.
Our plans for the Bent Door will be a 1950s diner/ malt shop on the southeast corner with a patio out back for outside dining, with a transportation theme combined with the history of the Bent Door.
The souvenirs and groceries will be located on the front west end of the building.
The garage area, when completed, will house some history about the transportation use of Route 66 — from the dirt trail that once was to the Mother Road to what it is today. […]
The World War II control tower area will contain Texas tourist information. We are hoping to encourage the Interstate 40 travelers into Adrian, Texas, there to boost the economy of all the businesses in town.
The Kiewerts told me they are planning on June 1, 2007, as the Bent Door’s opening day. A grand opening would be scheduled later that summer.
The Kiewerts also said they would start a Web site about the Bent Door, and would keep us apprised on the progress of renovations. So stay tuned.
History online of the Bent Door is scant. I found this on, of all things, on a Web site for a Best Western hotel in nearby Vega:
The Bent Door was a unique 24-hour Route 66 cafe, souvenir shop and gas station. Never officially named the “Bent Door Cafe”, it came to be called that because of the doors and windows that were purchased from an Army Air Force Base after WWII where they had served as part of the control tower. It was a bustling business during the hey-day of Route 66 and has many heart-warming stories. Even as it stands vacant, many people stop to reminisce and take pictures of the building.
(Photo of the Bent Door from the Oldham County Chamber of Commerce.)
Wow…thanks for the story; I’ve shot pics of that place but never knew what it was.
The Autumn, 2001 issue of Federation News (National Historic Route 66 Federation) contained an article on the history of the Bent Door Cafe. I wrote the article and in researching it I was able to interview Bob Harris, the builder and original owner, and Tommy Loveless, whose family operated the cafe and service station for many years. Bob Harris re-acquired the property ten years ago or so and hoped to re-open it but it didn’t work out.S
It’s great to hear the business will be brought back to life!
Thank you for your thoughts, Steve. I’m excited about it, too.
Steve Rider, I would like to hear more about your interview with Robert Harris and The Bent Door.The New owners Roy and Ramona Kiewert. rhrfkiewert@cox.net.
Good luck Roy and Ramona with your plans to restore and reopen The Bent Door. It sounds like it is going to be a great place to be. Perhaps we will make it that way once you have it open.
Good Luck on your June 1st opening because my wife and I are planning a trip on Route 66 in June and would love to include a meal in your diner. It excites me when I learn of restoration of former businesses on the Mother Road. That is going to keep it alive. I traveled Route 66 as a boy in 1953 from Mitchell IL to Santa Monica, CA and have lots of wonderful memories.
I have just returned to Ireland after a route 66 trip originating in Chicago and flying out of LA ten days later. It was a longtime ambition to do this and unfortunately we only had ten days but we managed to cover a lot of the sites of interest. It was a nostalgic journey with my brother and father who is 76 but we enjoyed it immensely.
The Bent Door was one of our ‘must see stops’ and we were delighted to see signs of rennovation after all the other desolate and eerie scenes we had encountered. Unfortunatley there was nobody ‘at home’ when we passed through mid January. I would recommend this journey to anyone and hopefully the Bent Door will inspire others to follow suit! It was an effort to find original diners open when hunger got the better of us but we managed to cope with what was on offer.
My best wishes go to the Kiewert’s in their labour of love and I hope to be back in Adrian to sample what is on offer in the future. A part of me would love to be involved in such a restoration project.
My wife and I just got back from driving Route 66 from Chicago to LA (May 20th through June 2nd) and made a stop at The Bent Door. The owners and their family were there, plenty of kids wandering around and riding bikes. The owners were very friendly and excited about their project restoring the place. It looked like they’ve still got a ways to go until it’s open but they do have a juke box and that’s a good start.
My sister-in-law and I drove the Route 66 from Albuquerque west to Arizona border then all the way to Amarillo and back to Albuquerque last week. The Bent Door was locked up; however, a television was on inside. No other activity. Still lots of restoration work needed.
2009 Up date on the restoration of The Bent Door. Our family spent our summer vacation repainting much of the inside and outside. the roof was repaired this Spring, followed by a good Spring rain with no leaks. But, that was short lived. A hail storm with golf ball size hail and 75mph winds severly damanged the The Bent Door roof and unfortunily the leaks are now worse. Most homes all over Adrian also received window and roof damage that day. That was a sad set back for us all in Adrian. New pictures will soon be on The Bent Door web sight. We are now looking into a new Tin Roof.
You can find the web sight by typing in Halfway Down Rt 66.
Hi Ramona,
Let us know when you want some help during a restoration
week or weekend. If giving some time notice I would be happy to come down and help with some restoration. I would love
to pour some hard work into your project. 🙂
Best regards,
Dave Willman
“66 Willy”
dwillman66@gmail.com