Best Summer Ever: Rock Cafe

The Rock Cafe along Route 66 in Stroud has been filling bellies with delicious food since 1939.

"I was born at the stoplight two blocks from here," said customer Jerry Murfin. "I started coming in about '48. Used to in the [1950s], you couldn't even get a parking spot because of all the 18-wheelers. It stayed open 24 hours a day."

The restaurant has cut back its hours, but maintained its popularity despite a brief closure. Then 24-year-old owner Dawn Wells bought the closed-down restaurant in 1993, and brought it back to life.

Although Rock Cafe is well known for its delicious food, it now has another claim to fame: it was the inspiration for the popular Pixar movie, "Cars." Beverly Thomas, the cook at Rock Cafe, says she's honored to be immortalized by animation.

"The fact that they made me a character, it is simply amazing. I always cry about it. Whatever tiny bit of me ended up being in there...it is a legacy."

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