The Plainsman (Closed)
Holbrook, AZ Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Standing alongside Route 66 with an oversized rifle, the frontiersman on the sign at The Plainsman certainly knew how to get attention. The tall fellow wore a coonskin-style cap and looked ready to keep watch over the restaurant and coffee shop below. It was one of those wonderfully oversized roadside signs that made Holbrook such an entertaining town to drive through.
Buddy and Evelyn Crabtree opened the Plainsman in 1966. The building mixed a Western theme with the look of a mid-century coffee shop, including large front windows, angled roof sections, and stone accents. It stood beside the old Desert View Motel, giving travelers another convenient place to stop for food and lodging along Route 66.
The rifleman sign was the real attraction from the road. The frontiersman stood high above the parking lot with his long rifle stretched across the top of the sign. Below him, separate panels advertised the Plainsman Restaurant and Coffee Shop. There was no giant hamburger, coffee cup, or dinner plate here. Just a heavily armed fellow making sure passing motorists noticed the place.
The Plainsman Sign
Holbrook, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Western theme fit Holbrook and its long connection with ranching and frontier history. The old Aztec Land and Cattle Company, better known for its Hashknife brand and rowdy cowboys, once operated across a huge portion of northern Arizona. Whether the Plainsman sign was directly inspired by that history is uncertain, but the rifleman looked right at home in town.
There is also a curious bit of timing. The restaurant opened in 1966, the same year Universal released The Plainsman, a Western starring Don Murray as Wild Bill Hickok. No definite connection between the movie and restaurant has been found, so it may have been nothing more than a coincidence. Still, it makes the name a little more interesting.
The Plainsman eventually closed sometime during the mid-to-late 2000s. The empty restaurant building remained beside the highway, but at least the big frontiersman continued standing guard. For years, travelers could still stop and photograph one of Holbrook’s better old Route 66 signs even though no one was serving meals inside.
The Plainsman close-up of sign Holbrook, AZ Photo courtesy Rod Holcomb
UPDATE: The Plainsman Restaurant is now closed and going through renovation. According to one of the owners family members, the restaurant should be open for business again one day. 01-09
UPDATE: The Plainsman Restaurant closed down in 2005 and has sat vacant for over the past decade. The restaurant is getting dustier by the day though the sing still survives. The Plainsman is located next door to the Desert View Motel who's sign was unceremoniously removed several years ago. 09-21
UPDATE: In June 2022, the Plainsman sign was taken down and sold to a private collector in California. It was a real disappointment to see the rifleman leave Holbrook after more than half a century beside Route 66. The vacant restaurant building remains, but without that towering sign and oversized rifle, this stretch of Hopi Drive has lost quite a bit of its old roadside character. 08-26
Navarone Restaurant (Gone)
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here’s the stacked roadside sign outside Navarone Restaurant near Tucson’s Benson Highway. Separate panels advertised fine food, a coffee shop, and cocktails, giving travelers three good reasons to follow the arrow into the parking lot. 07-23
Navarone sat just off old US 80, once the main highway bringing cross-country traffic into Tucson. Like many larger roadside restaurants of its era, the building combined a formal dining room, casual coffee shop, and dimly lit cocktail lounge under one roof.
The restaurant’s opening and closing dates have been difficult to pin down. Its name may have been inspired by the popular 1961 movie The Guns of Navarone, although no direct connection has been confirmed. Either way, Navarone sounded a little more exciting than the average highway coffee shop.
UPDATE: Navarone Restaurant closed, and its multilevel roadside sign was removed. The building was renovated and repurposed as a campus for PPEP Integrated Care, which provides health and social services at the former restaurant property. 08-26
Longhorn Restaurant
Tombstone, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
After walking the blocks of Allen Street, The Longhorn Restaurant makes a good stop for a steak, burger, or Mexican food. Its Western sign fits right into Tombstone, although this corner has a history reaching back long before the Longhorn name. 07-23
On December 28, 1881, Virgil Earp was ambushed by gunmen firing from an upstairs window on this property. He was badly wounded in the back and left arm but survived. The original building later housed the Bucket of Blood Saloon, a hotel, and the Owl Cafe before burning in 1942.
The present building opened as Rossi’s Motel and Italian Restaurant in 1952 and became the Longhorn during the 1970s. It is recognized locally as Tombstone’s oldest continuously operating restaurant.
UPDATE: The Longhorn remains open at Fifth and Allen streets, serving breakfast, steaks, ribs, burgers, and Southwestern food. The Western sign and awning still welcome visitors along historic Allen Street. 08-26
Pinon Pines Grill & BBQ (Closed)
Prescott, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here’s the roadside sign outside Pinon Pines Grill & BBQ along old Highway 89A near Prescott. The place looks like it should have offered barbecue, cold drinks, and a comfortable stop after a long drive through the mountains. Its history turned out to be a little more colorful. 07-23
Pinon Pines spent much of its life as a local tavern and biker bar with live bands, dancing, and plenty of late-night activity. It appeared under several names over the years, including Pinon Pines Bar & Grill and Pinon Pines Nite Club.
Around 2009, management tried to bring in more business by adding exotic dancers. The schedule eventually included both female and male revues. Apparently, the barbecue and live bands were no longer enough to keep the parking lot full.
UPDATE: Pinon Pines closed around 2011 and has remained vacant along old Highway 89A. The weathered roadside sign frame still stands on the property, although the barbecue, bands, and brief stripper era are all long gone. 08-26
The Plainsman (Closed)
Standing alongside Route 66 with an oversized rifle, the frontiersman on the sign at The Plainsman certainly knew how to get attention. The tall fellow wore a coonskin-style cap and looked ready to keep watch over the restaurant and coffee shop below. It was one of those wonderfully oversized roadside signs that made Holbrook such an entertaining town to drive through.
The Plainsman close-up of sign
Navarone Restaurant (Gone)
Pinon Pines Grill & BBQ (Closed)
