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children → sign → numbers
An iconic diner in the Mojave Desert was once a must-see destination for cinephile tourists, but a series of tumultuous years after the Covid-19 pandemic has put the cafe at risk, with fans fearing it will be forced to shutter its doors before Route 66's 100th anniversary.
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it → see → anniversary
The historic highway was commissioned on November 11, 1926.
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highway → commission → November
It has been the backdrop for countless pop culture moments, including the cult classic 1987 film Bagdad Cafe.
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It → include → classic
Andrea Pruett and her husband bought the restaurant in 1995, and it has stood as an artifact ever since.
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it → buy → artifact
The film follows a German tourist who wanders into the cafe after fighting with her husband.
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who → follow → husband
She forges an unlikely friendship with the cafe's owner and eventually comes to love the truck stop community.
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She → forge → community
Pruett clung to the cafe through hard times.
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Pruett → cling → times
She kept it going even after the kitchen closed during the pandemic and her memory faded.
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memory → keep → pandemic
When her house burned down in 2021, she slept in the cafe.
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she → burn → cafe
When her son died, she continued to show up and greeted the droves of tourists who came to see their favorite movie come to life.
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movie → die → life
After a tropical storm in 2023, the diner's roof caved in.
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roof → cave → 2023
Even that was not the end, as YouTuber and fan of the cafe, Sarah Woodall, raised enough money to fix it.
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that → raise → it
Woodall told the Daily Mail she loved exploring quirky places in the desert, and found how meaningful the cafe was when she first visited in 2017.
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she → tell → 2017
The Bagdad Cafe has stood as a relic of a famous film for decades, but years of hard times after Covid have stifled business
The restaurant is based on the film, The Bagdad Cafe, which follows a German tourist who wanders into the desert town after fighting with her husband and makes an unlikely friend
The cafe is located in a desolate area off Route 66.
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cafe → stand → Route
'It's a cool little relic of a bygone era that seems to really resonate,' she said.
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she → seem → era
Woodall, who also grew up in Germany, said German and French tourists frequented Bagdad Cafe and were often brought to tears when they arrived.
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they → grow → tears
Bagdad Cafe came out in 1987 and was popular in Germany and France
The cafe's kitchen has been closed since the pandemic, but staff have kept it alive by selling merchandise and letting fans wander inside.
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fans → come → merchandise
Pruett also found an unlikely calling at the cafe.
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Pruett → find → cafe
She stumbled upon it after a failed attempt at an ostrich ranch, and the owner told them it was for sale.
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it → stumble → sale
'My husband looked at me and I said, "Don’t even think about it,"' she recalled to the Los Angeles Times in 2003.
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she → look → 2003
Despite her initial hesitation, Pruett fell in love with the cafe.
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Pruett → fall → cafe
Her grandson, Greg Landers, told the Times last month that when people came in, '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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She → tell → questions
European tourists who loved the film would frequent the cafe and Pruett often greeted them in French and German.
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Pruett → love → French
Even celebrities like Monaco's Prince Albert II and actor Renée Zellweger graced the halls of the cafe.
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celebrities → grace → cafe
Zellweger told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that she ate chicken fried steak with 'a little old guy.'
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she → tell → guy
Pruett dedicated decades to the cafe.
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Pruett → dedicate → cafe
Family and friends said she slept there and continued showing up even as her memory faded.
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memory → say → ?
She's pictured above in 2006
YouTuber Sarah Woodall helped the cafe raise money to fix the roof.
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cafe → picture → roof
She said it was a 'relic of a bygone era' and is pictured above with Pruett.
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it → say → Pruett
Picture courtesy of Sarah Woodall
However, foot traffic came to an abrupt stop during the pandemic.
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traffic → come → 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.
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kitchen → tell → operations
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.
uncertain
she → say → Cafe
He told the Times that Pruett would repeatedly say: 'No, this is my place.
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this → tell → Times
This is where I want to be.'
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I → want → ?
Earlier this year, her family announced that she 'died peacefully in her sleep.'
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she → announce → sleep
Since her death in January, her loved ones have been fighting to keep the cafe alive in her honor.
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ones → love → honor
Pruett set up a GoFundMe before her death to update the kitchen and septic system so they could reopen food service.
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they → set → 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.
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she → try → time
Pruett died earlier this year.
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Pruett → die → ?
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
