The Red Hill Coffee Shop along Route 66 in Fontana, Calif., was long a favorite of locals and had been operating since 1987.
But it was forced to close July 3 when an out-of-control truck snapped off a supporting beam of the restaurant. The city condemned the compromised structure.
According to the Fontana Herald News, owner Mary Nickel has been rebuilding, and the Red Hill should be open again by October.
Foral has been a Red Hill regular since 1987. So, how has he coped since the closing? “We’re all bouncing around to other restaurants until Mary opens again,” said Foral.
Nickel is just as anxious as Foral. She’s lithe, wears a ready smile, and moves with the quick step of a waitress. An owner and waitress who loves her job, misses her customers, and wants her cozy coffee shop open again.
She admits the place isn’t fancy. Just 11 red vinyl booths with yellow tablecloths sprinkled with purple, blue and orange flowers. And seven stools that swivel at the counter, so the regulars can turn and greet friends walking through the door.
“We’re this little, tiny greasy spoon,” said Nickel, “not an Applebee’s or Mimi’s.”
The Red Hill once was Baker’s Hamburgers during the 1950s and ’60s, where a local teen or a Route 66 traveler could stop for a 19-cent hamburger.
The most amazing part is, Nickel has continued to pay her staff even throughout the restaurant’s temporary closure.