5 yrs ago on my first road trip in 2018 I stopped at the Bagdad café for a smooth and cold choco shake.
Last week, just before getting home, all I could get there was a cup of ice water. The proprietor was very sweet and apologetic, saying she’s overhauling the place to re-open and be able to serve the many people and busloads that come by, take pictures, and would love to have a meal. Or just a milkshake. When she was out of earshot, her assistant, maybe her daughter? said she had Alzheimer’s and it’s not gonna happen.
I bought a mug and wondered what would happen to the place.
The surroundings are as desolate as you can imagine.
But maybe the enduring appeal of “Route 66,”
an off-beat cultural icon, and—not to mention—a place that might have still have cash-generating potential, will conspire to keep it going, one way or another.
I’ll have to wait and find out when I travel through those parts again.
THE END