Cafe on the Route abruptly closes

Cafe on the Route, a Route 66 restaurant and bed-and-breakfast inn in Baxter Springs, Kan., that gained national fame for its appearance on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” show, closed in recent days.

The restaurant, in a former bank building built in 1870 at 1101 Military Ave. (Route 66), announced on Christmas Eve on its Facebook page about a giveaway of a gift certificate.

But on Monday afternoon, the restaurant posted a message on Facebook:

It is with great sadness that I write this post. We have decided to close Cafe on the Route but wish to thank you all for your love and support over the last 14 years. The fine people of Baxter Springs and all those near and far we have met over the years have brought us great joy and for that we are truly grateful. We value the friendships we’ve made and wish only the best for all of you in the New Year. God Bless……

Phone calls to the restaurant and the owners’ cell phone were not returned. However, a message from the Facebook account Monday evening said “the building and business is for sale. Please pass our info on to anyone you know that may be interested.”

The person who wrote the message did not elaborate on why Cafe on the Route closed.

An employee at the Baxter Springs Chamber of Commerce who declined to be identified said she’d heard the restaurant closed after New Year’s Eve. “Everyone was pretty shocked about it,” the worker said.

Chef Richard Sanell, who studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and his wife Amy started Cafe on the Route in the late 1990s, and the restaurant quickly gained notice for its creative cuisine.

That culminated with “Diners Drive-Ins and Dives” host Guy Fieri and a camera crew to show up for a Route 66-related episode in 2007. The restaurant’s website said about the episode:

Making the cut from a show like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is very competitive, meaning a restaurant has to stand out to get noticed. Perhaps the producers of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives were attracted to the Café on the Route by its eclectic menu items. Or that Baxter Springs is one of those charming little out of the way towns where a fine food dining establishment stands out like a Gucci suit under a Stetson. Aztec chicken, smoked salmon, fried potato salad and cheesecake Buenella were featured dishes Chef Guy selected to air on his program.

A clip of the episode showing Cafe on the Route was pulled from YouTube. But Sanell’s recipe for Aztec chicken can still be found on the show’s website.

UPDATE 1/10/2013: The Joplin Globe posted a story Wednesday about the restaurant’s closure. It didn’t have a lot new, but it did have this:

In 2011, the couple opened L.L. Sayers restaurant on the first floor of the Gryphon Building at 10th and Main streets in Joplin, Mo. It closed last year. They also opened Cafe on the Green at the Briarbrook golf course in Carl Junction, Mo.; a sign on the door at that restaurant said “Closed,” and no one answered the phone there Tuesday.

I’d heard Cafe on the Route was profitable. But the excerpt above indicates that perhaps the failure of the Sanells’ other two restaurants pulled down the Baxter Springs one as well.

UPDATE 1/17/2013: The person behind the Facebook page for Cafe on the Route said it was closing for “personal reasons.” He or she would not elaborate, nor was there a reply when I asked for additional details.

(Photo courtesy of Guy Randall)