Iconic Route 66 Bagdad Cafe Diner Nears Closure After Pandemic Struggles

A dusty spot in the Mojave Desert stands on the brink of closing just as Route 66 nears its centennial mark. The iconic diner, immortalized by a cult movie from the 1980s, is slowly turning into a hollowed-out husk after years of turmoil following the pandemic.

The historic highway was commissioned back on November 11, 1926. It has served as the backdrop for countless pop culture moments, most notably the 1987 film Bagdad Cafe. That story follows a German tourist who wanders into the cafe after fighting with her husband. She forges an unlikely friendship with the owner and eventually comes to love the truck stop community.

Andrea Pruett and her husband bought the restaurant in 1995, and it has stood as an artifact ever since. Pruett clung to the cafe through hard times. She kept it going even after the kitchen closed during the pandemic and her memory began to fade. When her house burned down in 2021, she slept in the cafe. Even when her son died, she continued to show up and greeted droves of tourists who came to see their favorite movie come to life.

YouTuber Sarah Woodall stepped in after a tropical storm in 2023 caved in the diner's roof. Woodall raised enough money to fix it. She told the Daily Mail she loved exploring quirky places in the desert and found how meaningful the cafe was when she first visited in 2017.

'It's a cool little relic of a bygone era that seems to really resonate,' she said. Woodall, who also grew up in Germany, noted that German and French tourists frequented Bagdad Cafe and were often brought to tears when they arrived. The film came out in 1987 and was popular in those countries.

The cafe's kitchen has been closed since the pandemic, but staff have kept it alive by selling merchandise and letting fans wander inside. Pruett stumbled upon this life after a failed attempt at an ostrich ranch. Her husband looked at her when she first saw the place for sale. 'Don't even think about it,' he reportedly said back in 2003 according to the Los Angeles Times.

Despite that initial hesitation, Pruett fell in love with the cafe. Her grandson, Greg Landers, told the Times last month that when people came in, it felt like a director saying, 'Action!' She would just go right into welcoming people and telling them to sit down, answering their questions. European tourists who loved the film often frequented the spot. Pruett greeted them in French and German.

Celebrities graced the halls too. Monaco's Prince Albert II and actor Renée Zellweger were among those who visited. Zellweger told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that she ate chicken fried steak with 'a little old guy.' Family and friends said Pruett slept there and kept showing up even as her memory faded.

However, foot traffic came to an abrupt stop during the pandemic. Years of hard times have stifled business. Now fans fear this historic landmark will be forced to shutter its doors before Route 66 hits its big hundredth anniversary. The community watches closely as this piece of history risks disappearing forever.

Mark Bradley, who runs the cafe, spoke with The Times about a grim reality: tourists still roll in, but the locals who kept things running day-to-day are gone. Without them, the kitchen had to shut its doors. Landers noted that family members urged Pruett to move in or suggested dementia care facilities, yet she refused. She told her loved ones over and over again, 'No, this is my place. This is where I want to be.'

Earlier this year, her family announced she died peacefully in her sleep. That was back in January. Since then, friends and relatives have fought hard to keep the cafe alive as a tribute to her memory. Pruett had set up a GoFundMe before passing to fix the kitchen and septic system so food service could resume. In that plea, she wrote, 'I am trying with this one last GoFundMe to finish the last step needed to Save and Restore the Bagdad Cafe.'

The place is built around the cult classic film of the same name. Movie fans have shown up in droves to see it for themselves. The kitchen closed during the pandemic, but the cafe stayed open selling merchandise. Now its future hangs by a thread as friends and family try to save it. Bradley dreamed that the Bagdad Cafe would keep operating well into the future, unlike so many Route 66 spots that have vanished or been vandalized. He wants the spot at its best when the 100th anniversary of Route 66 arrives.

Léa De Carmo, a filmmaker who made a documentary titled The Keeper of Bagdad Cafe about those final years, told The Times that even in her last days, Pruett never forgot where she was or why it mattered. 'She always knew where she was and that it was the place she wanted to be,' De Carmo added. The Daily Mail has reached out to Pruett's family for comment.