Goldie's Route 66 Diner
Williams, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here's a night shot of Goldie's
Route 66 Diner, located right off where else but Route 66 in Williams,
AZ. With the boomerang off the side, the place looks like a classic googie California coffee shop. 07-05
There is a good reason for the familiar look. The building was originally constructed as a Denny’s Coffee Shop in 1962, back when the chain used dramatic rooflines and plenty of roadside flair. A couple of houses were reportedly moved to new locations just to clear enough room for the restaurant. The old Phillips 66 station next door makes this stretch of the Mother Road even better.
Goldie’s keeps the coffee shop tradition going with burgers, hand-cut fries, real ice cream milkshakes, and breakfast served all day. Add the neon script glowing against the night, and this is one of those Route 66 stops that looks especially good after the sun goes down. 07-05
UPDATE: Goldie’s Route 66 Diner remains open and continues serving locals and Route 66 travelers. The vintage 1962 building, boomerang roofline, and exterior neon all remain in place. 08-26
The Silver Bullet (Gone)
Casa Grande, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the bubbly pouring into a cocktail glass on the old neon marquee outside The Silver Bullet in Casa Grande. Add in the giant arrow with chasing bulbs, and this was one sign that knew how to point travelers toward a drink. The tavern and its sign dated back to 1956.
The marquee was designed by Pedro Guerrero and built by the Guerrero-Lindsey Sign Company. It became a familiar sight along Pinal Avenue while the Silver Bullet operated as a neighborhood tavern and roadside watering hole for nearly 60 years.
UPDATE : The bar is shut down and the sign is gone. Word is the sign was sold to a collector. 04-17
The Silver Bullet (Gone)
Casa Grande, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Another view of the Silver Bullet sign and business while it was still open and before the sign was sold off in 2016.
UPDATE: The Silver Bullet closed following foreclosure in 2016. Despite local efforts to save the sign, it was sold to an out-of-state collector for $2,000 and taken to Iowa, where it was displayed inside Fletcher Kitchen & Bar. Its loss helped inspire the creation of the Casa Grande Neon Sign Park, although the Silver Bullet sign itself was never installed there. After the Iowa restaurant closed, the sign was removed and is reportedly held in private storage. The former tavern building was later gutted by a suspicious fire in March 2022. 08-26
Copper Cart (Closed)
Seligman, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Seligman still has plenty of old Route 66 character, and the neon outside Copper
Cart fits right in. The big name glows in neon while the unusual looped arrow is packed with 178 incandescent bulbs on each side. When those bulbs start chasing around the loop, there is no mistaking which way to turn.
The Copper Cart opened in 1952 and became a longtime stop for charcoal-broiled steaks, fresh seafood, and Mexican food. The restaurant sat on a busy little corner near the old Black Cat Saloon and what is now Historic Seligman Sundries. This was one more place where Route 66 travelers could pull over, grab a meal, and watch the highway traffic roll through town.
Copper Cart
Seligman, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The restaurant also played a surprising part in saving Route 66. On February 18, 1987, local barber Angel Delgadillo and 14 other supporters gathered inside the Copper Cart. That meeting led to the formation of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, which helped get the preservation movement rolling after Interstate 40 bypassed towns such as Seligman. The idea that helped bring Route 66 back to life got its start right here over restaurant tables.
The Copper Cart remained a familiar Seligman stop for more than 60 years. The building was later included among the town’s Route 66 properties on the National Register of Historic Places, while the looping arrow and glowing neon continued adding a fine splash of light to the old highway after dark. 07-05
Copper Cart
Seligman, AZ Photo courtesy Matthias Tippner
UPDATE: Here's a photo of the Copper Cart at dusk taken from down the street in 1996. Many thanks to Matthias Tippner for update. 01-07
UPDATE: The Copper Cart in Seligman is now closed. Many thanks to Dave van Hulsteyn for update. 02-08
UPDATE: The Copper Cart restaurant reopened in April 2008 under new ownership. The interior was completely remodeled to look like the nostalgic diners of the 50's. Many thanks to Kelly for update. 01-09
UPDATE: The Copper Cart restaurant has closed, but the historic building and sign survive. The Route 66 Motoporium moved into the property in 2015, filling the old restaurant with vintage signs, motorcycles, classic vehicles, and Route 66 souvenirs. There is even a mural outside with real motorcycles sticking out from the wall. The old Copper Cart neon continues to light up the corner, although hungry travelers will have to find their steaks and Mexican food somewhere else. 08-26
ABC Restaurant (Closed)
Kingman, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the giant neon cocktail glass outside ABC Restaurant in Kingman. Nothing says Chinese food quite like a huge glowing martini along Route 66. Whatever the connection may have been, it certainly made the restaurant hard to miss after dark.
The building originally opened in the early 1960s as Johnson’s King’s Arms Restaurant. Back then, the sign carried a medieval coat-of-arms shield and crossed spears. When the property became ABC Restaurant, the shield was replaced by the big neon cocktail glass, while portions of the old spear-like framework remained around it. Now that is one interesting roadside sign makeover.
ABC became a familiar Chinese-American food stop along Andy Devine Avenue, later operating as ABC Buffet. The tall pylon, glowing glass, and pointed framework looked especially good against the Kingman night. 07-05
UPDATE: ABC Restaurant has closed. The building briefly became India Spice-N-Bar around 2016 and now operates as La Catrina Mexican Restaurant & Cantina. The old pylon structure remains, but the neon cocktail glass has been removed and the sign faces have been repainted for the newer businesses. Even the spear tip was taken off, leaving the remaining pole looking a little like a giant drink stirrer. 08-26
Mr. Lucky's (Closed)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Traveling along Grand Avenue just would not be the same without that wild-eyed jester staring out from the 50-foot sign at Mr. Lucky's. With his three-pointed hat, dangling red balls, and slightly crazed grin, this fellow was a real head-turner, especially when the neon lit up the Phoenix night.
Mr. Lucky’s opened in October 1966 and was originally planned as Arizona’s first legal gambling casino. When the state turned down legalized gambling, owner Bob Sikora changed course and opened a huge two-level nightclub instead. Country music filled the main floor while younger crowds headed downstairs for rock and roll.
The club became one of Arizona’s best-known honky-tonks. Waylon Jennings played regular engagements here before becoming a national star, and singer J. David Sloan later bought the place. There was even an outdoor rodeo arena behind the building where customers could watch live bull riding. Dancing, cocktails, country music, rock and roll, and a rodeo out back. Mr. Lucky’s really did have a little of everything.
The towering jester sign was designed by Phoenix sign man Glen Guyette. Panels beneath the joker originally advertised “Dancing” and “Cocktails.” During the club’s later Latin music days, those were changed to “Musica” and “En Vivo,” but the same strange old character continued keeping an eye on Grand Avenue traffic. 07-05
UPDATE: The original Mr. Lucky’s country nightclub closed in 2004. The building later served as a Latin dance hall, furniture outlet, and the short-lived Mr. Lucky’s Grubhouse. It now stands closed behind a chain-link fence. The giant jester sign survives, although it is faded, rusty, and no longer glowing like it once did. 08-26
Here's a night shot of 
Copper Cart (Closed)
Copper Cart
