Those who are traveling Route 66 in western Missouri between Springfield and Carthage may want to consider a side trip, according to longtime roadie Tonya Pike.
Pike emailed me about the Hangar Kafe, which opened in May in rural Miller, Mo., near the Route 66 hamlets of Avilla and Spencer. I’ll let her explain:
It is owned by the Kingsley family who also own a crop dusting business. There are multiple hangers and over 20 planes housed there. Kiman Kingsley (yes, the whole family is named with K’s, hence the K of Kafe) states that his grass runway is busier than the Joplin and Branson airports and comes in just behind Springfield in terms of traffic. He and his family opened this Kafe so that the local farming community had some place to go. It’s open 6 am to 10 pm daily because farmers can’t always eat at noon or 5. They serve breakfast, burgers, hand-breaded tenderloins, assorted dinners, and have really good pie. The front of the Kafe is all glass so you can watch the planes come and go while you eat. There is also a very nice outside seating area as well. When I talked to Kiman last, they’d been open about 8 weeks and he told me he was already getting calls from as far away as California from people who wanted his coordinates so they could fly in just to eat. I think he was more than a bit amazed by that.
If Kiman is there, for a small fee he will take you up in one of his planes and buzz the Kafe. The facility is also the home of Ozark Skydiving and for a fee — they will also let you jump out of a plane.
They are very anxious to serve not just the local community but Route 66 as well. They’ve already become business members of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. The Springfield News-Leader did a story on them in May just before they opened and I was there opening day and have been back several times since.
Pike says everything inside the hangar restaurant is airplane or John Deere decor.
The location of the restaurant is here. It’s the same location as the Ozarks Skydive Center.
(Photos courtesy of Tonya Pike)
Wow, it’s like Planes meets Cars! We’re looking forward to paying them a visit soon.
Very much so, only better!! I forgot to mention that their cash register sits in a hot air balloon gondola basket. It is just a very cool place and only 3 miles off the Route. A side trip I believe is more than worth the effort.