“Right out of a movie”
The old Kan-O-Tex service station at the north end of Main Street in Galena, Kansas has been purchased by 4 women from Galena: Betty Courtney, Melba Rigg, Renee Charles and Judy Courtney. They are helping lead the rebirth of Galena's stretch of Historic Route 66. The original plan was to turn the old KanOtex station into a farmer's market. But the vision has grown and Four Women hope to develop up to 4 buildings near this intersection. One may become a bed and breakfast and another may become the farmer's market. But this Kan-O-Tex service station is now restored. They sell sandwiches, snacks, antiques, Route 66 and Car's items, including several made by local craftspeople and artists. Outside the building there will be several vehicles, including the mining boom truck that inspired the character "Tow Mater" in Radiator Springs from the movie Cars. For trademark reasons, Four Women are calling their boom truck "Tow Tater." Tow Tater still runs and can be hired to appear at special events. I think that you will find meeting the Four Women on the Route and their families as much fun as their wonderful building.
Closed Sunday -Tuesday every week.
Ok, first of all you MUST support these great women. They're going out on a limb to bring people back to this small town and to give us all a taste of what it was like to travel Route 66 back in the day. Every little bit of support you can give them will help them possibly expand and create/restore even more in Galena!
Absolutely loved visiting Galena and checking out this place. It's now called "Cars on the Route" and it's such a cool joint. They've got karaoke and BBQ on Friday nights, I wish I could've gone to that but there's really no place in town to spend the night, so if you're visiting it's a great spot to spend the afternoon. Hopefully "The Mouth" is working, she's a fabulous, spitfire of a lady who'll tell you all about how their little ex-gas station helped inspire the movie "Cars." Great spot for photos, especially with the little ones.
Firstly, not called this anymore. Now called Cars on the Route. Have makeshift cars to look like those out of Cars cartoon movie. They let you get in and take a photo. Women very friendly and talked about the vehicles etc and how they relate to inspiration for the movie. Worth a pit stop.
A cute place to do a photo ops. Went after hours.
A fun spot but it was closed when we visited.....much more to see when they are open.
Such a fun place to stop with my three boys! They absolutely loved the cars and it feels like you’re in a scene from the movie. We arrived after closing (3pm) so i didn’t get to try the burgers but I’ll bet they’re amazing! Definitely worth the stop for Disney fans and kiddos!
A MUST stop for authentic/historic Route 66! Melba is a wonderful oral historian, I only wish I could remember all the facts she shared. Dean ‘Crazy Legs’ Walker also gave us a wealth of other places to see on our trip west. SO glad I didn’t listen to the driving husband who said we had taken a wrong turn!
The store was closed when we stopped by but still cute for a quick stop!
They were not open when we arrived but it was a great stop! Our kids love Cars and they did such s good job replicating them :)
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Cars on the Route
Hours
- Wed - Sat: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Reservations
- Does not take
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Breakfast
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Dinner
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Lunch
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Outdoor Seating
Parking, Dining
Nearby Hotels
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