An iconic diner in California’s Mojave Desert, once a pilgrimage site for film lovers, is facing an uncertain future. Years of upheaval following the Covid-19 pandemic have severely damaged business, leaving fans worried that the cafe could close before Route 66 celebrates its 100th anniversary.
The legendary highway was commissioned on November 11, 1926, and has since provided the setting for countless moments in popular culture. Among the most enduring is the cult 1987 film Bagdad Cafe.
Andrea Pruett and her husband purchased the restaurant in 1995. Since then, it has remained a living relic of the movie and a landmark along historic Route 66.
The film centers on a German tourist who arrives at the cafe after an argument with her husband. There, she forms an unexpected bond with the cafe owner and gradually falls in love with the truck-stop community around her.
Pruett held on through years of adversity. She continued running the cafe even after its kitchen shut down during the pandemic, while also coping with a decline in her memory.
When her home was destroyed by fire in 2021, Pruett slept inside the cafe. After her son died, she still returned to work, welcoming the steady stream of visitors who wanted to see the movie setting for themselves.
Then, in 2023, a tropical storm caused the diner’s roof to collapse. But once again, the Bagdad Cafe survived. Sarah Woodall, a YouTuber and longtime fan, raised enough money to pay for repairs.
Woodall told Our News Outlet that she has always enjoyed exploring unusual places in the desert. Her first visit to the cafe in 2017 showed her just how deeply the landmark resonated with its visitors.
The Bagdad Cafe has remained a relic of a famous film for decades, but years of financial hardship after Covid have sharply reduced business
The restaurant was immortalized by the film The Bagdad Cafe, about a German tourist who arrives in a desert town after a marital dispute and forms an unlikely friendship
The cafe sits in a remote area alongside Route 66, the iconic highway that is approaching its 100th anniversary
‘It’s a cool little relic of a bygone era that seems to really resonate,’ she said. Woodall, who also grew up in Germany, said German and French tourists regularly visit the Bagdad Cafe and are often moved to tears when they arrive.
Bagdad Cafe was released in 1987 and became especially popular in Germany and France
The cafe’s kitchen has remained closed since the pandemic. Staff have kept the landmark operating by selling merchandise and allowing visitors to explore the interior that became famous on screen.
Pruett discovered an unexpected new path when she came to the cafe. After an unsuccessful attempt to visit an ostrich ranch, she and her husband stopped at the restaurant, where the owner told them it was for sale.
‘My husband looked at me and I said, “Don’t even think about it,”‘ she recalled to the Los Angeles Times in 2003.
Despite her first reaction, Pruett soon grew attached to the cafe. Her grandson, Greg Landers, told the Times last month that every arrival felt like a movie beginning: ‘it was like a director saying, “Action!”‘
‘She would just go right into welcoming people and telling them to sit down, answering their questions.’
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European visitors who cherished the film became regular guests, and Pruett often welcomed them in both French and German.
The cafe has also attracted high-profile visitors, including Monaco’s Prince Albert II and actor Renée Zellweger. Zellweger once told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that she had eaten chicken fried steak there with ‘a little old guy.’
Pruett dedicated decades to the cafe. Family and friends said she slept there and continued showing up even as her memory faded. She’s pictured above in 2006
YouTuber Sarah Woodall helped the cafe raise money to fix the roof. She said it was a ‘relic of a bygone era’ and is pictured above with Pruett. Picture courtesy of Sarah Woodall
However, foot traffic came to an abrupt stop during the pandemic. Mark Bradley, the cafe’s manager, told the Times that tourists still come, but there are no locals to sustain day-to-day operations and the kitchen had to close.
Landers said family members asked Pruett to move in with them and suggested dementia care facilities, but she had no desire to leave the Bagdad Cafe.
He told the Times that Pruett would repeatedly say: ‘No, this is my place. This is where I want to be.’
Earlier this year, her family announced that she ‘died peacefully in her sleep.’ Since her death in January, her loved ones have been fighting to keep the cafe alive in her honor.
Pruett set up a GoFundMe before her death to update the kitchen and septic system so they could reopen food service.
‘I am trying with this one last GoFundMe to finish the last step needed to Save and Restore the Bagdad Cafe,’ she wrote at the time.
Pruett died earlier this year. She is pictured above with her family. Picture source: GoFundMe
The Bagdad Cafe is a tribute to the cult classic film. Fans of the movie have shown up in droves to see it in person
The kitchen closed during the pandemic, but the cafe stayed open to sell merchandise. The cafe’s future is uncertain as Pruett’s friends and family try to save it
‘My dream is for the Bagdad Cafe to continue to be here and open well into the future, not like so many things along Route 66 that have disappeared and vandalized.’
‘The 100th anniversary of Route 66 is coming up and I want the Bagdad Cafe’ to be at it’s best.’
Léa De Carmo, a filmmaker who documented the cafe’s last few years in a documentary called The Keeper of Bagdad Cafe, told the Times that even in Pruett’s final years, she never forgot it.
‘She always knew where she was and that it was the place she wanted to be,’ De Carmo added.
Our News Outlet has reached out to Pruett’s family for comment.
