The neon still glows outside El
Charro Cafe in Yuma. The name seems to turn up on Mexican restaurants all over Arizona, but this El Charro is a longtime Yuma original with its own family history and a fine bit of neon out front. 07-05
Tony and Lola Gutierrez opened the first El Charro in 1949 as a small 50-seat cafe on 4th Avenue. The restaurant became popular enough that the family moved to the larger West 8th Street location in 1970. It has remained in the Gutierrez family ever since, eventually passing to a third generation in 2015.
El Charro is known around town for its Sonoran-style Mexican food, including hand-rolled enchiladas, chile rellenos, and the Green Saddle burrito. That glowing script outside makes the place look especially inviting at night. Follow the neon and there should be a plate of Mexican food waiting inside.
UPDATE: El Charro Cafe remains open and family-operated after more than 75 years in business. The classic neon continues to glow outside the West 8th Street restaurant. Despite sharing its name with historic El Charro restaurants in Flagstaff and Tucson, the Yuma cafe has no connection to either one. 08-26
El Rey Cafe (Closed)
Globe, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here’s a neon look at Libby's El Rey Cafe along Broad Street in Globe. The red El Rey lettering was still glowing when this photo was taken, although the words “REAL MEXICAN FOOD” were missing from the top of the sign. That bold claim once stood high above the cafe name, just in case passing drivers were wondering what might be cooking inside. 7-05
El Rey opened at this location in 1947 and became a longtime stop for Sonoran-style Mexican food along the highway through Globe. The restaurant was part of a much larger family food story that began with Josephine Picazo, who opened an earlier El Rey Cafe in the area in 1938. Members of the extended family eventually started several related restaurants around central Arizona, including Guayo’s El Rey in nearby Miami and Chalo’s Casa Reynoso.
Libby’s became known for fried tacos, homemade tortilla chips served with melted butter, and two kinds of salsa brought to the table. One was mild and the other came with a little more warning. Buttered tortilla chips may sound unusual, but they became one of those El Rey traditions remembered long after the meal was over.
The Globe restaurant later operated under the name J&R El Rey Cafe Reynoso’s, keeping the family connection and familiar El Rey name alive. Out front, the weathered roadside marquee continued to carry a bit of old neon along the US 60 corridor. 0
UPDATE: Libby’s El Rey Cafe has closed, although the exact closing date is uncertain. The old marquee framework remains standing outside the former restaurant, but the sign is weathered and no longer lights up as it did in this nighttime view. 08-26
Ye Olde Lantern(Closed)
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the giant golden lantern hanging from the roadside marquee at Ye Olde Lantern in Tucson. Suspended beneath an arrow filled with chasing bulbs, the three-dimensional neon lantern made the steakhouse hard to miss along Oracle Road. 07-05
The restaurant opened as the Green Lantern barbecue in 1924. Dean and Millie Short remodeled it into Ye Olde Lantern in 1959, creating a classic steakhouse with red Naugahyde booths, live piano music, mesquite-broiled steaks, prime rib, and lobster tails.
UPDATE: The Ye Olde Lantern has shut down after over 80 years as a restaurant and almost 50 in its current iteration. The Elks Lodge has purchased the building after the owners decided to move out of state. 03-06
UPDATE: Ye Olde Lantern closed on February 25, 2006, after 82 years of restaurant operation. The building became Tucson Elks Lodge 385, and the marquee was removed. Its giant lantern was saved and restored by a local preservationist and is now displayed in a Tucson residential yard. 08-26
Rod's Steak House
Williams, AZ Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Rolling into Williams along old Route 66, it is hard to miss the glowing Hereford steer outside Rod's Steak House. Most travelers call it the neon cow, but technically this fellow is a steer. Either way, the bright red animal standing above the entrance has become one of the best-known neon sights along Arizona’s stretch of the Mother Road.
Rodney “Rod” Graves opened the steakhouse on August 23, 1946, just as postwar traffic was beginning to fill Route 66 with families, truckers, and cross-country travelers. Williams was the last town on Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40, so Rod’s spent decades serving people traveling directly through the middle of town.
Graves took his steaks seriously enough to purchase a ranch and raise his own Hereford cattle. His registered “MJ Bar” ranch brand became part of the restaurant’s identity, appearing on menus, dishes, and Western decorations inside. The glowing steer out front fit right in with the ranch theme and told hungry travelers exactly what they could expect for dinner.
Rod's Steak House
Williams, AZ Photo courtesy Tim Hewett
Inside, Rod’s developed the comfortable look of an old Route 66 steakhouse. Western decorations covered the walls, and steaks were cooked on a grill that had been part of the restaurant since its early years. The big neon steer above the entrance became just as important as the food. It was photographed by generations of travelers and eventually became one of those Route 66 signs that could be recognized without even seeing the name of the town.
The restaurant passed through only a few owners during its long run. Rod Graves operated it until 1967, followed by Jim Pickens and then longtime owners Lawrence and Stella Sanchez. Each kept the steakhouse tradition going while much of the old highway around it changed.
Rod’s survived the bypass of Williams, changing travel patterns, and decades of new restaurants appearing along Interstate 40. The pandemic proved to be a tougher obstacle. The steakhouse closed in December 2021, the dining room went dark, and for nearly four years the familiar neon steer stood above a restaurant with no steaks cooking inside. Many Route 66 travelers feared that Rod’s had reached the end of the road.
Rod's Steak House front
Williams, AZ Photo courtesy Matthias Tippner
Fortunately, this is one old Route 66 story with a happy turn. Kennelly Concepts purchased the property and carefully remodeled the restaurant, updating the plumbing, kitchen, and seating while retaining the Western character, original steak grill, and famous neon sign. The new owners even waited for a particularly fitting day to bring the place back.
UPDATE: Check out this shot of Rod's Steak House showing the neon sign and the other assorted neon lettering around the entranceway to the restaurant. 01-09
UPDATE: Rod’s Steak House reopened on August 23, 2025, exactly 79 years after the original restaurant first opened. The restored neon steer is flashing above the entrance once again, the vintage grill remains in use, and steaks are back on the tables. After nearly four dark years, one of Williams’ best-known Route 66 landmarks is alive and glowing again. 08-26
Cruiser's Cafe 66
Williams, AZ Photo courtesy Tim Hewett
Here is a shot of the neon sign outside of Cruiser's Cafe 66, located off Route 66 in Williams. 10-06
Here’s the neon Route 66 shield outside Cruiser’s Route 66 Cafe in Williams. Between the glowing sign, vintage gas pumps, and old car parked on the patio roof, the place certainly knows how to catch the attention of travelers cruising through town.
The cafe occupies a former 1940s Gulf service station and incorporates a neighboring 1910 building that once housed the Postal Telegraph Company. Today, the old roadside structures are filled with Route 66 decorations and the smell of mesquite-smoked brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and burgers.
UPDATE: Cruiser’s remains open at the corner of Route 66 and Third Street. The neon shield still glows outside, and the former auto repair garage now houses the Cruiser’s BrewCade with craft beer and vintage arcade games. 08-26
Galaxy Diner - 1996
Flagstaff, AZ Photo courtesy Matthias Tippner
Here’s a look at the Galaxy Diner, a little piece of the 1950s sitting along Route 66 in Flagstaff. With the neon glowing outside and plenty of chrome, jukebox tunes, and rock-and-roll decorations inside, the place looks ready for a burger and a thick milkshake. 01-07
The building originally housed a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant before being remodeled and reopened as the independent Galaxy Diner around 1994. The diner became especially known for its soda fountain menu, which offered more than 100 different milkshake and malt flavors. Picking one may have taken longer than eating the burger.
Traditional neon is not especially common in dark-sky-conscious Flagstaff, which makes the Galaxy marquee a particularly welcome sight after sundown. It adds a nice bit of glow to the old highway without requiring a trip back to the 1950s.
UPDATE: The Galaxy Diner abruptly closed in August 2019 after its parent company entered bankruptcy. Longtime manager Will Pillen helped bring it back, reopening the restaurant in late 2020. The diner received another round of interior improvements in 2026 while keeping its jukebox, retro theme, comfort-food menu, and familiar Route 66 neon. 08-26
Rod's Steak House
Rolling into Williams along old Route 66, it is hard to miss the glowing Hereford steer outside 
Rod's Steak House
