The next time you’re in Amarillo looking for a meal during the weekend, keep your eyes peeled for a restored 1929 Ford Model AA that now houses Pappy’s Soda Jerk restaurant.
Robert Rowley’s vehicle often can be found parked on Fridays and Saturdays at his wife’s business, Amarillo Developmental Gymnastics Center; Tripp’s Harley Davidson, or “somewhere along 6th Street,” the latter which is Route 66 in Amarillo.
According to a recent article in the Amarillo Globe-News, the Pappy’s Soda Jerk food truck was a popcorn truck during the 1930s. Rowley restored the vehicle, along with a few additions. It serves old fashioned hamburgers and New York-style hot dogs.
Rowley said the truck, originally from Michigan, took two years to renovate.
“I’ve tried to keep it as close to the original as possible. Everything that I’ve taken out of the truck, I’ve put back into the truck,” Rowley said. “I worked really closely with the Amarillo Fire Department and Amarillo (Public) Health Department to put it together, one so we don’t burn down a piece of history, also to ensure that we are food safe. So some of the modern things in the vehicle are just to … that we know we are up to code and safe as possible.”
The time-appropriate restorations made by Rowley to the vehicle include the vehicle’s outside appearance, engine, driveshaft, front end, siding, glass, cash register and much more. Rowley said he tried to keep the food truck as close to what would have been its original appearance and function as possible. Some of the modern additions include a refrigerator, ventilation system, sound system and outside night lights.
According to the owner, there is only one other truck in North America of the same era, with a functioning wood-burning cast-iron stove. The other is currently on display in a museum in New York, making Rowley’s the only one in operation in the U.S.
Rowley is encouraging those wanting to follow his locations and schedule to go to his Pappy’s Soda Jerk page on Facebook.
(Image of the Pappy’s Soda Jerk vehicle via the Amarillo Environmental Health Department)