Postcards from Diners - “Pride and Pies”
Diners are fundamental to the Route 66 experience- not just for burgers and milkshakes, but because of the connections they help facilitate. In this episode we'll step inside three in Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona to hear stories from their remarkable owners who not only labor hard to serve mouth watering pies, but compassion to those who enter.
TRANSCRIPT
(As this transcript was obtained via a computerized service, please forgive any typos, spelling and grammatical errors)
Evan Stern (00:00):
My favorite passage of the Grapes of Wrath happens about midway through when Steinbeck shifts attention from the Joads to a nameless diner on Highway 66. In a concise chapter that's essentially a standalone short story within the novel, he introduces readers to a hardened waitress named Mae and sullen line cook named Al, whose livelihoods depend on the truckers, moneyed travelers, and impoverished migrants driving West. They serve pie, coffee and burgers, but most crucially, compassion. And while I'll spare you the plot's details, the scenes and encounters powerfully illustrate that sharing, empathy and generosity reap not only strength, but rewards. Now more than 80 years since its publication, diners like these remain fundamental to Route 66 and today invite you to saddle up to the counter with me as we'll step inside a few whose owners like Mae and Al know these lessons. Well, I'm Evan Stern, and this is Vanishing Postcards.
Evan Stern (01:11):
1,139 miles between Chicago and Los Angeles is the town of Adrian, Texas. About an hour past Amarillo, it might be the flattest place I've ever been. A friend I know who grew up in the Panhandle says, the landscape here is like the ocean, vast and perfect from a distance full of nuance up close. But when I ask Brenda Hammett Bradley to describe her adopted hometown, she's a little more direct.
Brenda Hammett Bradley (02:25):
Don't blink, right, Brandon? Don't blink <laugh>
Brenda Hammett Bradley (02:29):
Because you'll miss it. Tere's 160 people here. Don't blink It's a, it's a nice little town, honey. All the people here are awesome. I love it here.
Evan Stern (02:40):
A blue eyed 50 something with wispy light brown hair. Brenda grew up in Michigan and tells me racehorses and marriage brought her to Adrian about 25 years ago. We're talking across a formica table in the Midpoint Cafe, which is aptly named for the mileage sign across the street and looks exactly the way an old diner should. The chairs and booths are covered in red vinyl, a pie case tempts customers near the counter and the vocals of the Chantelles, Platters and Bobby Lewis drift out of an old jukebox in the corner. Brenda tells me she bought this place after frying an untold number of bologna sandwiches from behind the griddle.
Brenda Hammett Bradley (03:16):
About three or four years ago. Uh, William Shatner was here. He told me I made him the best baloney sandwich he ever ate. <laugh>,
Evan Stern (03:24):
But I guess it, it is a big world out there. What keeps you in Adrian?
Brenda Hammett Bradley (03:30):
The big world comes to Adrian <laugh> in 19, we had 84 countries come through. So yeah, I love this cafe. I I you'll never get rid of me <laugh>. They'll never get rid of me. Let's put it that way. <laugh>.
Evan Stern (03:42):
Turns out this is true of pretty much all the diners I've visited on Route 66, and perhaps no owner knows this better than Dawn Welch, who sought adventure in the tropics before finding it at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma,
Dawn Welch (03:56):
I wanted to work for a cruise ship. And that was my big goal. Um, in high school, I remember I was a great cross country and track runner, and I got a scholarship to go to, to university, and I remember telling my cross country coach who had worked really hard to get me this scholarship that I didn't wanna go to college. And she thought I was crazy. You know, again, we were poor. So she thought that was exactly what I needed. And, uh, I kept, I just told her, I said, I wanna go work on a cruise ship. Granted, I had never flown on an airplane yet. So to go from a small town in Oklahoma to telling my track coach who knew better that I was gonna go work on a cruise ship, that sounded like pure d insanity. But, you know, within the year after high school, I was on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, uh, while I was traveling on the cruise ships, um, I was always surveying where I would want to go, and I was always saving money to open up my own business.
Dawn Welch (04:58):
Um, my original plan was to go to Costa Rica. It was my favorite country. And a lot of Americans and Canadians and Europeans were going there and opening up businesses. They were encouraging that, and they had grants for you to go there and do that. And so I was in on the ground level of all of that. That was my plan. I was gonna go open up a Beatles submarine shop, so it was gonna be all Beatles music and, you know, decorated with the Beatles. And I was gonna have a submarine as the toppings area for submarine sandwiches. And that's what I was gonna do. So the next thing you know, I am getting off of the cruise ship in Miami, headed towards Costa Rica. And I decided at the last minute to come back by and say goodbye to my mom. I'll be in Costa Rica for the next few years.
Dawn Welch (05:50):
So I came here and I was rollerblading down Main Street, and this old truck pulled me over and said, uh, hey, your mom told me you wanted to buy some restaurant equipment. So I came into the cafe with that intention of buying all the restaurant equipment. It had been shut down, it was just a dusty hot mess in here. And the owner wanted to get rid of the building and the equipment. And, uh, by the time I left that afternoon, I had rented the building for $200 a month, headed straight to Barnes and Noble in Oklahoma City to buy a book on how to make a business plan to open a business that I'd already rented. I, uh, I still have the book, How to Run a Restaurant. And so from that, I surmised that I needed to sell 10 hamburgers, fries, and Cokes per day.
Dawn Welch (06:37):
And that's how I opened up the cafe. So I asked Ed Smalley the owner about the sign, and he told me, no way, it will never work again. It's broken forever. Sign's just never gonna work. I said, okay. So then he also told me, and you're gonna need a new grill of all the restaurant equipment in here. You're gonna have to get rid of that grill. It's, it's just the worst thing. It's been here since the day we opened. So I thought, okay, so went to go price grills. Oh my God, they were $15,000. I was like, I can't replace that grill. So I turned it on and I started to learn. That's, that's how I learned to cook, was on that grill. And the next thing you know, that's what we were using and what I learned over the next few years was that that grill put flavor on food items like you would never find anywhere else. It is just the most amazing piece of equipment in this building. And I don't know what I'll do, if ever I have to lose her.
Evan Stern (07:32):
This was early 1993, and while the Rock Cafe had stood sturdily since Roy Reeves built it stone by stone in the thirties, Don says, the locals were skeptical it could ever turn a profit.
Dawn Welch (07:43):
No one would come in here. And of the very few people that came in here, um, they, they were always telling me they were townspeople, just curious. And so they would make sure that I knew that this was a failing business. I also remember not knowing how to cook. Um, I mean, literally, I didn't know how to stir a gravy, make gravy, cook a biscuit, anything. I remember dragging people in from outside who would drive by, and they were like, Ooh, it looks kind of scary. Don't really wanna go in. So I would go outside and I was like, if you come in and eat, I will buy your meal if you don't like it. And sometimes they look terrified of it, you know, like, oh my God, who is this? But they would come in and, and buy something.
Evan Stern (08:26):
One of those early passerbys was a sign repairman who having bonded with Dawn's Great Dane at no cost grabbed ladder and like magic repaired the supposedly unfixable flasher before leaving town. And with the neon back, things started to pick up.
Dawn Welch (08:41):
I remember the first time I learned that we were on Route 66, I got a phone call and it was a group of European tourists, and they were all gonna come into the Rock Cafe. They were like 50 of 'em. And I thought, oh my God, how am I, you know, first I'm rich. Secondly, how am I gonna get this done? How am I gonna feed 50 people? What is that gonna look like? That is the day that I knew I was sitting on a gold mine. And a few weeks later, Michael Wallis caught wind that I was on Route 66. And, um, he came down to meet me. And I remember the day, like it was yesterday. He's like, you know, honey, if you stay on this road, I'll make you famous. I'll send everyone your way. And I thought, I'm in the money now. You know, I just remember, and it was pretty quickly, you know, February, March, April, May, depression, how am I gonna make this work? And then all of a sudden, June, it just busted out. And still to this day, June, July and August are our busiest month.
Evan Stern (09:36):
Michael Wallis made good on that promise. And eight years later, having been hired by Pixar to consult on a little movie they were developing called Cars, asked Dawn if he could bring the team by for a meal at the cafe.
Dawn Welch (09:48):
When I, that first night, I sat down with, um, John Lasseter. He told me his whole story and he said, I want to tell you my whole story cause I want you to share everything with me. And we did that just like old friends sitting at a table and talking. And there were a crew of 14 people, and I remember them just running like bees everywhere. Some were photographers, some were artists, some were voices, and they were all his tight group of people that were the creators of these wonderful shows. And then from 2001 to 2005, they came back every three months with someone, someone different, doing some other piece of the puzzle, putting that movie together. Then it went dead silent from 2005 to 2006. I, we heard nothing from them. And I thought, okay, well they've, you know, they've done everything they want to do.
Dawn Welch (10:39):
And then one day John Lasseter called and said, Hey, I'm gonna be sending all the media presence to you. I want you just to talk to everybody. Tell 'em what we did together. So I said, okay, I can do that. And then eventually a package arrived inviting me to the premiere of the movie. And that's where, you know, I, in, I flew to North Carolina, the track, and, and on my way into the movie theater, or no, it wasn't the movie theater, it was, you know, the racetrack car track. Um, they told me on my way in, John Lasseter pulled me aside and said, you're Sally Carrera. And I didn't have five minutes to digest that before all of a sudden we were watching the recreation of the, the race, you know, in actual real cars. And, and then the flash of the movie coming up on the screen.
Dawn Welch (11:30):
And, you know, it was just beside myself. Everything about Sally is, is something that I told them, um, right down to the, they called me one day, John Lasseter calls me out outta the blue one day. He's like, what's your favorite color? And I'm like, I don't have a favorite color. And my daughter was, was, you know, six or seven years old. And, and I said, but my daughter's favorite color is blue. So I I really like blue. You know, the car is blue. You know, I mean, every single detail in the movie was a story that I told them or something they witnessed, or, you know, it's just, I can't even describe the emotions that you go through after building something up like that that you, you didn't think that was that big a deal. But then they're able to show your life in a way that you could never do.
Evan Stern (12:22):
Dawn was just one of the Pixar team's, many muses for cars. In fact, Fran Houser, who owned The Midpoint before Brenda inspired the character of the wise cracking Flo. But in terms of story and setting, most recognize Seligman, Arizona as having provided the basis for the town of Radiator Springs. And like Angel Delgadillo, whom you might remember from our first episode, Lilo Russell has born, witness to many of this community's ebbs and flows.
Lilo Russell (12:50):
Originally, it was a Santa Fe, a railroad town. So we always had, I would say a hundred, 150 railroad people in town that were helping the community survive and thrive. And then the railroad decided not to stop anymore, they now go from Winslow to Needles. So we lost a lot of revenue there. And then when I 40 bypassed, that was probably the awakening of we're in trouble in Seligman. You know, you had all the traffic go through Seligman, they spent money, they're stopped, they eat, they fill up their cars. And the very next day when they bypassed, there was nothing, literally nothing. Not a car inside, not a truck. It was, it really was, Hey, we need to do something. And we did. We in the chamber, there was 10 of us, you know, talked about what can we do? We came up with the idea, let's get together and get this Route 66. And it worked.
Evan Stern (14:12):
Proof this revitalization worked can be found in the fact we're talking in Westside Lilo's, the cafe Ms. Russell runs and co-owns with her daughter, who also happens to be named Brenda. Opened in 96, it's a cheerful earth toned space with tables covered in Mexican tiles. But pulling in the parking lot, you'll notice a German flag. Entering a placard on the door reads Willkommen. And while they proudly advertise the best half pound burgers on Route 66, that probably isn't what this place is best known for.
Lilo Russell (14:44):
What inspired me to open up a restaurant was, first of all, my, my grandma in Germany was a, a really, really good cook, so was my mom. I'm basically just a good cook. I'm not learned, but I had worked for the post office and next door, the building that we are in right now opened up. So it was an opportunity to do what I had in mind to do, open up a restaurant, serve good food, and have German food in Seligman, Arizona. That was my goal, was, Hey people, there's Schnitzels and Saurkraut and bratwurst that are darn good. That, I succeeded in that. Uh, when you really think about it, Seligman is in the middle of nowhere, small town who's gonna buy your schnitzel and saurkraut? The number one thing on my menu is saurkraut and schnitzel <laugh>. And I do make a special once a week, that's totally German.
Evan Stern (15:51):
About 10 years ago, Lilo's cooking and life story caught the attention of a team of German producers who facilitated a homecoming through a reality show.
Lilo Russell (16:00):
It was called (German), which means one time the Wild West and back, which fits the whole subject of myself coming back. So we went to Germany and took over a restaurant, and the owners of that restaurant came to Seligman, Arizona and took over our restaurant. And the biggest shock was for them to come to Seligman. We were in Paradise, we were in Allgau right outside of Munich. So we were in the perfect place, and they were in Seligman, but we all adjusted. And the television show ended up being a huge success. They had over 5 million viewers. And the reason I have all these German license plates on the wall is because I mentioned in that show that I like German license plates. So every German that came from Germany brought me a license plate.
Evan Stern (17:08):
Born in Wiesbaden in 1941, Ms. Russell came to Seligman through her serviceman husband, Patrick, whom she met while he was stationed abroad.
Evan Stern (17:16):
You moved to Seligman in 1962. Can you describe for me your first impressions of Seligman when you got here?
Lilo Russell (17:23):
That was not very good <laugh>.
Lilo Russell (17:27):
It was, it was kind of, you know, you have things that you think you're gonna see. And I flew into Phoenix and we drove up through Flagstaff, and I thought, just like Germany, beautiful. Got to Williams. Nice, you know? And then I'd asked my husband why he told me not to bring skis, because in Flagstaff they're ski. So then we continued on to Ash Fork, and I'm like, okay. And in those days you still, it was Route 66, there was no I 40. So you went to Williams, then you proceeded to go through Ash Fork, and we got to Seligman. And I'm like, okay, I have to adjust. I come from a big city, but you know, it turned out all well and I love it here. You know, the biggest, I think the largest one was the shock of how you dress in Germany and how you dress over here. And I was lucky to meet the right people in Seligman that sort of took me under there. And don't dress up like that. You're not in Wiesbaden, you're in Seligman, Arizona. So I think that was probably the largest, largest shocker for me. Is to dress still good, but down, you know,
Evan Stern (18:56):
Lilo traded in her skirts and heels for blue jeans and flats a long time ago, but still carries herself with a casual elegance. Her hair is neatly cropped, and the day I meet her, she's wearing a silk shirt, textured blazer, and subtle diamond earrings. She also moves with strength and looks far younger than her age, which is something she doesn't hide from.
Lilo Russell (19:16):
I'm 80 years old, I still work four days a week, you know, so it, I have no regrets. To me, the most important thing is to stay busy and to have a goal. If you get up in the morning and you don't have a goal, I think that's what makes you old. So I think with me having my goal, enjoying what I'm doing, I come to work about 8:30 in the morning. First thing I do is make the soup of the day. Then I continue on to see what kind of pies I need, and I continue to make the pies. I don't know if it makes it special. I just put a lot of love in it. I enjoy making them. And I have a few ingredients that other people don't use.
Evan Stern (20:08):
If a diner can be judged on the quality of their pies, Lilo's West Side more than passes any litmus test. And while, Ms. Russell isn't one for chest beating, at this point her daughter Brenda, feels moved to chime in
Brenda (20:21):
The pies and the carrot cake are her number one. That's what she just thrives on. And how she makes 'em, you know, it's very secret, <laugh>, she does it mostly the carrot cake. The carrot cake. Nobody has a recipe except for my mom and I, and that's it. You know what I mean? And then our cream pies, they're just, I mean, they're known. They're very, very good.
Lilo Russell (20:43):
You know, my pies are good, and I'm sure other places Are just as good or, you know,
Brenda (20:50):
But you know, I do have to say that you've gone into other places and you do compare 'em. And I always go back to my mom's, not just because she's my mom, but it's like you really think, you know, she really takes the time and puts everything into those, you know,
Evan Stern (21:04):
The other Brenda at the Midpoint in Adrian takes great time and care with hers as well.
Brenda Hammett Bradley (21:11):
Um, my day starts out about seven 30 in the morning. We open at eight. These ladies are good enough to meet. I'm not always here at eight because I stay here till about three o'clock in the morning making pie, because I, we work through the day and some, you know, I'm needed just as much out here during the day as I am at night when I'm making the pie <laugh>
Evan Stern (21:32):
For reasons I don't understand, and she can't fully explain. They're called ugly pies on the menu.
Brenda Hammett Bradley (21:38):
It's all of my pies. It's just a name for all of my pies. I'm not the one that came up with it. It came from Fran and Dennis, Fran and Dennis, both because Fran's pies were called the ugly crust pies. When Dennis took it over, it was the ugly pies. Okay? And it just has stayed
Evan Stern (21:56):
Well, no matter the name, they look beautiful to me. And after much debate, I tried the Elvis, a sinful creation of chocolate, peanut butter, banana, and whipped cream and regret I don't have company so I could sample the lemon meringue or coconut cream. She got these recipes from her mom and grandmother, and I was told to bring an appetite for them by Amarillo photographer Jim Livingston, who had fine words for Brenda as well.
Jim Livingston (22:22):
It is like going to your mom's or your sisters. She is one of the sweetest human beings in the universe. Um, you know, she has employed half of the teenagers in Adrian just to, to give them jobs. And, you know, I mean, she, she is genuinely one of the neatest ladies in the universe. She, um, she oftentimes gets a little tongue tied, uh, being, you know, she's, she's great behind the scenes and she's very humble. I mean, super, super humble. And so it's kind of hard for her to, to get attention. I mean, she'd much rather take care of somebody's, uh, booboos and, and feed 'em a bologna sandwich. And, you know, she's like your mom, you know, she's gonna take care of you. She's just wonderful lady.
Evan Stern (23:04):
In talking and hearing Brenda tell me about the challenging last two years and hours she keeps without complaint. It's clear she is one to put others first- but I guess, you know, why, why are places like this important for the world at large?
Brenda Hammett Bradley (23:17):
Because this is what built the world. <laugh>. Can you articulate that? Sure. We're losing them all the mom and pop places are going down, you know, and Covid started it.
Evan Stern (23:33):
And why is a mom and pop, what do you get from a mom and pop place, like this
Brenda Hammett Bradley (23:37):
Personal love?
Evan Stern (23:42):
And then in what ways have you, uh, received love here?
Brenda Hammett Bradley (23:46):
Oh, all kinds of ways. <laugh>, I had, um, I have a couple that I love with all my heart. They offered me the money to pay this off,
Evan Stern (24:01):
But yet you, uh, you you said no.
Brenda Hammett Bradley (24:03):
Yeah, I said no, <laugh>, because that's a lot of money. <laugh>. I couldn't do that. I was like, oh, thank you. But no
Evan Stern (24:10):
<laugh>. And you know, I hate, hate to ask, but what would you know, what would it be like to you if you did have to say goodbye to this place? Oh
Brenda Hammett Bradley (24:16):
My gosh, <laugh>. I'm gonna ride it to the very end. I know that <laugh>, if that would be the case, you'd still, I'd be broke. <laugh>, and I still have it open. <laugh>,
Evan Stern (24:26):
There's no prying Lilo and her daughter away from their cafe either.
Lilo Russell (24:31):
I'm probably gonna run around here in a wheelchair and drive everybody crazy. My goal is to keep it up. I think Brenda's biggest excitement was that she is now the owner of Westside Lilo's and has to continue my way of working <laugh>,
Brenda (24:53):
And I will <laugh>, that's a family owned restaurant, and a family will be totally what it's all about. That's my whole thing about it. It will keep going on and on and on. I want it to keep going. I don't ever want to sell it. I want it to keep going so my mom can always look down and be so happy at what she did
Brenda Hammett Bradley (25:13):
<laugh>.
Evan Stern (25:14):
And when I ask what makes this labor worthwhile, all are united in their responses. But I mean, how does this, how is it that this place fuels you?
Brenda Hammett Bradley (25:25):
How does it, what, how
Evan Stern (25:26):
Does this place fuel you?
Brenda Hammett Bradley (25:28):
From the people? Man, I love the people. The people are amazing. I love everybody along the route. All my friends along the route, they are amazing. My suppliers are great to me. I mean, I just, I can't help but love everybody <laugh>.
Lilo Russell (25:43):
It's the return of your customers that really makes this place, and that's the gratification that you get from working hard and making everything good.
Dawn Welch (25:58):
Well, I think it's the most important because of people. Um, it's, it's a real, you know, everybody's in these viral worlds and living these viral lives. And while it's fun to have the Instagram photos and it, and it's fun to do the social media part alive, but it's so much more real when you can go out and make real connections. And I think that's why diner are so important. And in a diner like this, you feel part of a community. You know, you feel, you know, our waitresses and our staff are usually real friendly with, with people. And usually also people will begin talking to each other because it's a diner style place. And I think that's what makes it the most important. We, again, we call it the Rock Cafe Magic.
