I e-mailed Ramona Kiewert, asking them how she and her husband, Roy, were coming on their plans of moving from Nacogdoches, Texas, to Adrian, Texas, so they could restore and reopen the historic Bent Door. The Kiewerts bought the long-closed Route 66 business last summer.
Here is what she told me:
We haven’t moved as of yet, but we are working hard at The Bent Door. The tables and chairs are there as well as are the appliances for the kitchen. Robert Harris removed the old tin roof. But we have found that the roof is leaking bad and we are in need of a new tin roof. Roy thought that he had the leaks fixed, but with the rain and melting snow there are new cracks in the old cement roof. We were there working Dec. 26-30.
Roy is there about twice a week and has been getting a lot done. We are awaiting approval on our plans for the gas lines to the building. When that is done, the kitchen will began to come together. We have people stopping by to see the progress. It’s slow but steady.
We will be at The Bent Door on March 10 – 15, 2007. If anyone would like to come by to help with the outside cleanup and painting, we would greatly appreciate the help. We are going to see if we can get a roll-off box placed there for the trash that week. We have a lot more to do, and we are excited about moving to Adrian. We are making some wonderful friends in town.
For more details about the Kiewerts’ purchase of the Bent Door, its history and their plans, read this article in the Route 66 Pulse newspaper, written by yours truly.