‘Required pit stop’ along Route 66 is Adrian, Texas

One of the most popular destinations for motorists to gather to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of U.S. Route 66 in 2026 is the little town of Adrian, Texas, located in the Panhandle region near the top of the state.

Visitors can grab a bite to eat at Adrian’s legendary MidPoint Café and Gift Shop. 

The establishment is aptly named; the town is famously situated “at the geo-mathematical midpoint” of Route 66 – 1,139 miles from both Chicago, Ill., and Los Angeles, Calif.

 

Adrian’s town motto is: “When you are here, you’re halfway there.”

 

The 138 folks who live in Adrian like the feeling; it makes them special. (A few have moved elsewhere since they put up the green city limits sign, noting the population as 166.)

Business is good at the 54-seat MidPoint Café, according to owner Brenda Hammit, 62, She started as a cook at the restaurant in 2013 and took over ownership in 2018.

 

Hammit is doing her level best to carry on the café’s proud traditions that were established by the late Fran Houser, a former owner. 

Houser “was the inspiration” for the character of “Flo” at “Flo’s V8 Café” in the fictional town of “Radiator Springs,” which is featured in the 2006 Pixar animated movie “Cars.”

Flo is a light turquoise/green-colored 1950s General Motors Motorama show car. 

She is not based on a single production model, but is a custom, one-of-a-kind vehicle inspired by GM concepts of that era, featuring elements from the 1951 Buick LeSabre and 1951 Buick XP-300.

 

Also, the “Mia and Tia” twins that appear in the film were based on two MidPoint Café servers – sisters Mary Lou and Christina Mendez.

 

Mia and Tia are red Mazda Miata twins with black roofs.

             Over the course of the film, they display a variety of Lightning McQueen stickers.

In the film, Flo’s, “as a drive-in restaurant for anthropomorphic cars,” boasted that it served “the finest fuel on Route 66.”

Shane McAuliffe, who hosts “The Texas Bucket List,” a weekly, nationally syndicated television program, recently dropped by the MidPoint Café to order a triple-decker cheeseburger.

 

Hammit told him to be sure to save room for a piece of her “Ugly Crust Pie.” It’s a slice of Americana – a specialty dessert that was introduced by Joann Harwell, who formerly served as Midpoint Café’s pastry chef. 

Using her grandmother’s pie recipes, Harwell would lament that her crusts never measured up to perfection.

“The main ingredient in any recipe I have is the love that goes with the attempt. I don’t make a perfect pie crust, but I’ve come to see that there’s more to life than being perfect,” Harwell said.

Writing for Chron.com, based in Houston, Rebecca Treon said: “Today, Hammit herself makes roughly 20 pies per day – sometimes starting at 3 a.m. – and they almost always sell out.”

“Coconut cream is MidPoint’s most popular flavor, but Hammit also makes an Elvis-inspired pie that has chocolate, peanut butter and banana.” 

“There’s also the MidPoint version of a Derby pie, with Tennessee whiskey, chocolate and pecan, plus more common flavors, like apple and lemon meringue.”

Treon said: “The rest of the menu includes amped-up American diner classics: burgers almost too big to get your mouth around, BLTs with 10 pieces of bacon and a quarter-pound hot dog. But there are no French fries, because MidPoint doesn’t have a fryer; instead, they serve chips, coleslaw or potato salad. Hammit coordinates with tour buses in advance.”

 

“MidPoint’s decor has evolved organically over time, thanks to its customers,” Treon wrote. “The walls are lined with license plates, and the register displays currency from around the world. The dining room has brightly hued, vintage diner tables and Naugahyde booths, and the walls are covered with 1950s, Route 66 and Coca-Cola memorabilia.”

 

“This is probably one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done,” Hammit says. “I love meeting people. I’ve made so many friends. It’s not about the money – I’ve just had a blast in here, it’s just amazing.”