Parker House Restaurant (Gone)
Williams, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Parker House Restaurant looked like it had been sitting along Route 66 for decades, and that colorful old sign certainly helped. Located on the western side of Williams, the place had the comfortable roadside appearance of a restaurant where travelers could stop for a full meal without spending a fortune. 09-21

Local businessman Dick Goplin operated the Parker House by the late 1960s, along with the Kachina restaurant in Flagstaff. The exact opening year is uncertain, but the Parker House became a familiar dining stop for travelers entering Williams from the west.

A closer look at the Parker House Restaurant sign
Williams, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Old budget travel guides praised the restaurant for inexpensive comfort food. Fried Mississippi catfish and rainbow trout dinners came with salad and potatoes for less than nine dollars. Those days, and those prices, are long gone.

UPDATE: The Parker House Restaurant closed, and its colorful roadside sign was removed. The building itself survives and now houses Jessica’s Family Restaurant, a 1950s and 1960s-themed diner serving breakfast, lunch, and a mix of American, Greek, and Italian food. The old restaurant is gone, but the roadside dining tradition continues in the same building. 08-26

Old Smoky's Restaurant (Demolished)
Williams, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s the old Old Smoky’s Restaurant along Route 66 in Williams. With its rustic roadside building and mountain man mascot standing out front, the place looked like it had been serving breakfasts since the days of buckskin and pack mules. 09-21

Rod Graves opened Old Smoky’s in 1946, the same year he started nearby Rod’s Steak House. He sold the restaurant two years later to Miles and Lois Cureton, who operated it for the next 12 years and helped establish it as a familiar stop for Route 66 travelers.

The mountain man mascot was a nod to William “Old Bill” Williams, the legendary scout and trapper for whom the town was named. He became the face of Old Smoky’s, welcoming travelers looking for pancake stacks, breakfast skillets, and slow-smoked barbecue. The food was hearty, and the mascot looked like he had worked up an appetite getting there.

Old Smoky's entrance
Williams, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

After decades beside the highway, the old building began suffering from repeated flooding and other structural problems. Operator Dan Barnes eventually decided that repairing it no longer made financial sense. The restaurant moved into a nearby commercial space formerly occupied by the Grand Canyon Cafe, while the original Old Smoky’s sat vacant and continued to deteriorate.

UPDATE: The original 1946 Old Smoky’s building was demolished on July 18, 2017, after being declared a blight and safety concern. Its mountain man mascot and old signs were removed, and their present whereabouts are unknown. The relocated Old Smokey’s Restaurant has also since closed, bringing the long Route 66 run to an end. 08-26

Mr. Maestas Family Restaurant (Rem.)
Holbrook, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out the big yellow triangle pointing the way into Mr. Maestas Family Restaurant in Holbrook, Arizona. The unusual sign advertised American and Mexican food, while the wood-paneled building looked like a comfortable place to pull over for a hot meal along old Route 66. 09-21

Mr. Maestas has been serving locals and highway travelers for decades, although its exact opening year is difficult to pin down. The menu mixes burgers, meatloaf, and other American diner food with enchiladas, red and green chile, sopapillas, and Navajo tacos served on fresh fry bread.

Mr. Maestas sign with the former Budget Inn sign in the background
Holbrook, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Inside, the wood-paneled walls are covered with antiques, local memorabilia, and old road-trip collectibles. It has the comfortable, slightly cluttered look of a family restaurant that has been around long enough to collect a few things.

UPDATE: Mr. Maestas remains open at 502 Navajo Boulevard and continues serving American and Mexican food six days a week. The old yellow triangle sign has been removed, and the neighboring Budget Inn later became part of the Knights Inn chain. At least the restaurant is still chugging along. 08-26

The food is hot and good here

Granny's Closet (Closed)
218 S. Milton Road, Flagstaff AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out the 10-foot wooden lumberjack standing outside Granny’s Closet along busy Milton Road in Flagstaff. Known as Little Louie, the cedar fellow greeted customers from a platform in the parking lot, eventually sharing the space with an old red farm tractor. 09-21

Before Granny’s Closet, the property was home to the Lumberjack Cafe and later the Paul Bunyan Cafe. In 1962 or 1963, California boat builder Bob Prewitt made a pair of 20-foot fiberglass Paul Bunyan statues for the restaurant. Roadside historians consider them the first of the giant advertising figures that became known as Muffler Men.

Those original giants even appeared in the 1969 movie Easy Rider as Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper passed through Flagstaff to the sound of “Born to Be Wild.” Plenty of Muffler Men later turned up outside tire stores, gas stations, restaurants, and golf courses across the country, but the whole oversized family started right here.

Frank and Sally Zanzucchi purchased the cafe in 1974 and renamed it Granny’s Closet after Frank’s mother, Ermalinda. The restaurant became a busy family-run steakhouse, Italian restaurant, and sports bar where several generations of the Zanzucchi family worked over the years.

Granny's Closet (Closed)
218 S. Milton Road, Flagstaff AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Zanzucchis donated the two original fiberglass giants to Northern Arizona University, where they became versions of Louie the Lumberjack. A smaller wooden Little Louie was later placed outside Granny’s to keep the lumberjack tradition going. The weathered statue received a restoration in 2009 and returned to the parking lot on a new platform.

UPDATE: Granny’s Closet closed in November 2016 after 42 years in business. Northern Arizona University purchased the property for $4.9 million in 2018 but left the restaurant vacant. Little Louie was eventually removed and placed into university storage for protection. In 2026, NAU received approval to offer the 1.26-acre property for sale or long-term lease. The building remains empty, and the lumberjack no longer stands along Milton Road. 08-26