Travis Good had some interesting news from the Route 66 town of Dwight, Ill., that he posted to the Route 66 yahoogroup:
Ron was showing me a new business in Dwight across the street from the Becker gas station. It looks like a big billboard with a mural on it. It turns out that it is a coffee shop. […] It turns out that the building is
two railroad boxcars on top of each other! How cool is that?It’s called Route 66 Java Stop, and the coffee is exceptional.
It seems the lady who created this novel coffee shop has quite the successful store in Portland, Ore. She’s originally from Dwight and her family is still there. I was told that when she visited home last year, she decided she wanted to plant a foot back in her hometown and started this new business. It’s run by the family locally using her expertise … and supplies. When you buy a cup, the sleeve to the cup talks about the Portland store.
The two containers that form the store are stacked. However, the upper is empty space while the bottom is used front-to-back for the store. The paint is vivid and attractive, invoking imagery of Route 66. About the only thing they really need to add is a bright neon sign which proclaims they’re open for business. It’s completely not obvious that it’s a store as you go by. You have to pause, take it in, and then approach it once you realize it’s a store. However, when you do finally get your order, the coffee is superb.
The picture of the business is shown above. Good says the drive-through window is in the lower right corner.
Good also gave me the exact location of the Route 66 Java Stop, which is almost directly across the street from the historic Ambler’s Texaco Station in Dwight.
(Photo by Travis Good at TravisGood@aol.com)