It was a shock to probably everyone except Randall; there was nothing on the door, nothing on the business Facebook Page, no notice of any kind. But the rumor proved true: Randall’s Rt. 66 Diner, at 219 E. Dewey, is closing for good on Saturday, August 24th.
Owner Randall Williams opened his diner in the space last October, leaning on the experience of his parents, who have operated a successful restaurant in Henryetta for some time now.
Related: read our review of Randall’s Route 66 Diner!
Unfortunately, the problems that frequently plague small businesses—and seem to be even harder on restauranteurs—became too much for Williams and his team at the diner to bear.
“I couldn’t afford the overhead,” Williams said, citing rising food and beverage costs, taxes, utilities, and license renewals. “It’s definitely a handful and a headache.”
Randall’s Diner will be open on Saturday from 8 am to 1 pm to serve their final customers and say their goodbyes. Williams says that part will be the hardest.
“I will definitely miss the people I’ve come to know and see on the day to day basis,” he said. “They were the fuel that kept us going.”
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Randall’s Route 66 Diner is the latest casualty of restaurants trying to make it in that space that seems to be perfect and awful all at the same time. While it makes a lot of sense to be across from a courthouse—as well as the only real option for eating downtown—the lack of parking, coupled with the rising cost of doing business at that location has caused doom to more than one space.
Consistently a restaurant of some sort since 1927, many will remember it as Rivett’s Route 66 Café, where it remained for more than a decade, and Al’s Route 66 Café, which was famous for it’s “Route 66 Challenge”. Randall’s is closing less than a year after opening. The previous restaurant was Victory’s Cafe, which also lasted less than a year.
