Route 66 News, catch-up edition

I’ve been out of town for about 10 days traveling Route 66 and more. Here are the stories from the Mother Road that broke while I was away …

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The biggest news was the announcement that the historic Aztec Hotel in Monrovia, Calif., would undergo extensive renovations with its new owners, reported the Monrovia Patch.

The first phase will be to enable the restaurant to once again become operational and to secure tenants for the commercial spaces facing Foothill Boulevard. In addition, electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems will be updated as well as addressing the condition of the roof. Phase two will focus on restoring the exterior façade and increasing the number of parking spaces for the hotel as well as seeking to upgrade the clientele. The third phase will include projects as the need arises.

The preservationists who heard the announcement were enthused. When the 1925 hotel, with its distinctive Aztec-style architecture, changed hands, many in the community fretted on whether the landmark’s appearance would be preserved.

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The historic Big Chief Restaurant in Wildwood, Mo., is set to reopen soon after its new owners bought the property in March and renovated it, reported the Eureka-Wildwood Patch.

The 1929 property, which is on the older Manchester Road alignment of Route 66 in the St. Louis region, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The new owner, Stephanie Mulholand, said she’d already been contacted by motorcycle and classic-car groups from Chicago to California about stopping at the Big Chief.

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The man who brought a fiberglass giant holding a hot dog to a restaurant along Route 66 in Cicero, Ill., has died.

Hamlet Arthur Stephens, 89, longtime owner of Bunyon’s hotdog stand, died last weekend, reported longtime roadie Dave Hoekstra of the Chicago Sun-Times. Shortly before Bunyon’s opened in 1966, he brought in a 19-foot-tall fiberglass Paul Bunyun figure. Instead of it holding an axe, the giant grasped a large hot dog.

The restaurant sold in 2003, and the Bunyon’s giant was moved to downtown Atlanta, Ill. — also on Route 66. Shortly before Stephens’ death, the Bunyon’s giant recently was repainted by volunteers with the Illinois Route 66 Association.

It wasn’t just an eye-catching giant that brought customers to Stephens’ restaurant, though:

At its peak, Bunyon’s was selling more than 300,000 hot dogs a year.

“Anybody can sell a hot dog,” Mr. Stephens said. “The trick is that you have to regulate how many hot dogs you put in according to the crowd. Most places throw in 50 hot dogs, and two hours later, they’re selling them.” Bunyon’s had a split steamer to keep the hot dogs warm and fresh.

The hot dog building and land was sold, but Mr. Stephens kept his homemade hot Italian giardiniera relish a secret. Bunyon’s giardiniera is still manufactured by his family and sold at select Whole Foods Markets in the city and Schaumburg.

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City councilor Blake Ewing has proposed a $50,000 cost-share grant program to help businesses along Route 66 in Tulsa to upgrade their signs to neon lighting, according to the Tulsa World.

Ewing wants to see the city dollar amount matched by private donors and then when Route 66 businesses apply for grant dollars they would have to provide at least 50 percent in matching funds as well.

“What we’re trying to do is incentivise people to use neon signs which can be more costly than a plastic-box sign,” he said.

“Creating an aesthetic to Route 66 will help spur economic development.”

Several Route 66 entities, including Hillcrest Medical Center, Bama Pies and the University of Tulsa, have expressed interest in adding neon signs, Ewing said.

Shortly after his election, Ewing formed a Route 66 Task Force to help spur development along the city’s stretch of the Mother Road.

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Donut Man, along Route 66 in Glendora, Calif., was named one of the best doughnut shops in the nation in a list compiled by the Orange County Register.

Donut Man, which recently marked its 40th anniversary, has gained fame for its strawberry doughnuts.

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Bun Boy, a Route 66 restaurant that operated in Barstow, Calif., for decades, soon will close, reported the Desert Dispatch newspaper.

The restaurant, at 1890 W. Main St., was a landmark on the former Route 66, serving generations of travelers and local residents with distinctive dishes like the Ortega Burger.

“That was where me and my dad always had breakfast when he got off graveyard from Santa Fe,” Erin Blankenship Redding said in a Facebook post. “Waitresses always knew when we were coming and would have my pancakes and hot chocolate with extra whipped cream waiting for me.”

The closing date reportedly will be June 24.

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The Carthage Press in Carthage, Mo., a few days ago caught up with Andrew Ritchie, a city administrator in Litchfield, Ill., who is cycling Route 66 to raise money for a Route 66 visitors center and history museum in his town.

“When I first started this ride, I thought I was ready to go, but I had no idea what the road conditions would do to my body and the headwinds, it’s been a challenge,” Ritchie said in an interview at the White Rose Winery Bed and Breakfast in Carthage where he stayed overnight Monday night. “This has truly been a delight. It’s done for the city, not for me, I’m just very happy to participate with this.” […]

“I average 80 miles a day,” Ritchie said. “I’ve got some days that are well over 100 miles and one day was only 40 miles, which goofs up the average. I’ve been calculating the climbs I do going over the Arizona Divide and the Continental Divide and I’ve climbed over 60,000 vertical feet.” […]

“You miss about 90 percent of what’s out there to see in a car with the air conditioner going,” Ritchie said. “You miss the smells and the sounds. The cows will look up and watch me go by, so I try to talk to them. I have found the people on Route 66 to be universally friendly, they just want to talk, they give me advice. This country is really quite fascinating.”

Ritchie said the center would cost about $500,000, much of which will be funded by donations. He’s scheduled to finish his trek in Chicago on June 9.