Summit Inn
{{Short description|Historic U.S. Route 66 roadside diner}}
{{for|the historic hotel resort located in Farmington, Pennsylvania|Historic Summit Inn Resort}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{infobox building
| name = Summit Inn
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| image = Summit_Inn_Interior.jpg
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| caption = A booth inside the Summit Inn
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| altitude = {{convert|4260|ft|m}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jvTB7tIUUwoC&pg=PA359 |title=Traveling Route 66 |author1=Nick Freeth |author2=Paul Taylor |page=Books.359 |date= 2001-07-01|access-date=2012-08-24|isbn=9780806133263}}
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| owner = Katherine Juarez and Otto Recinos
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| address = 5970 Mariposa Road
| location_town = Oak Hills, California
| location_country = United States of America
| coordinates = {{coord|34.3591|-117.4352|region:US-CA|display=inline}}
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| opened_date = 1952
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| main_contractor = Burton and Dorothy Riley
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Image:Buick_Service_Old_Texaco_Building_Summit_Inn.jpg
The Summit Inn was a historic U.S. Route 66 roadside diner built in 1952, located at the summit of Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County, California. The building was destroyed by the Blue Cut Fire on August 16, 2016.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Todd_Mokhtari/status/765740210814582784|title=Todd Mokhtari on Twitter}} The building's current owners plan to rebuild the restaurant, as it appeared before the fire.{{cite news|last=Steinberg |first=Jim |url=http://www.sbsun.com/business/20160817/summit-inn-destroyed-by-blue-cut-fire-but-new-owners-say-they-will-rebuild |title=Summit Inn destroyed by Blue Cut fire but new owners say they will rebuild |publisher=San Bernardino Sun |date=17 August 2016 |access-date=24 August 2016}}
History
The original Summit Inn was in operation in 1928{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUPlGM-qosgC&pg=PA83 |title=The Cajon Pass |author=Alice Eby Hall |page=83 |date= 2009-09-02|access-date=2012-08-24|isbn=9780738570754}} and takes its name from its original location at the summit of the Cajon Pass between the westbound and eastbound lanes of US 66.
The present location in unincorporated Oak Hills, California, had been in operation since 1952 when 66 was rerouted along a somewhat lower elevation. 1953-era postcards depict a Horseless Carriage Rally at the Summit Inn which included vintage Ford Model T's.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwIWnouNf6gC&pg=PA24 |title=Mojave Desert |author=John Howard Weeks |page=24 |date=2012-02-27 |access-date=2012-08-24|isbn=9780738588872}}
Cecil “C.A.” Stevens bought the station and restaurant from original builder Burt Riley in 1966; he'd wanted just the Texaco filling station on the site but agreed to buy both if Hilda Fish, a German woman who ran the restaurant, were willing to stay to run the place. Hilda Fish retired in 2002{{cite news|last=Strickland |first=Sharon |url=http://www.hesperiastar.com/news/one-2909-inn-summit.html |title=Get your fill on Route 66 |publisher=Hesperia Star |date=2009-09-08 |access-date=2012-08-24}} and is now deceased.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M6A45lkTk8YC&pg=PA21 |title=Life on Route 66: Personal Accounts Along the Mother Road to California |author1=Claudia Heller |author2=Alan Heller |page=21 |date=2012-05-22 |access-date=2012-08-24|isbn=9781609496227}}
Route 66 in the area was obliterated by Interstate 15 in California by 1970.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znQWlnkMVvUC&pg=PA146 |title=Route 66 Lost & Found: Mother Road Ruins and Relics: The Ultimate Collection |author=Russell A. Olsen |page=146 |date=2011-11-15 |access-date=2012-08-24|isbn=9780760339985}}
On March 27, 2014, an intoxicated driver, Jayson Ernest Johnson of Riverside, California, was arrested for crashing a stolen van into the restaurant, causing $200,000 in damage.{{cite web |url=http://blog.pe.com/crime/2014/03/27/riverside-stolen-vehicle-found-smashed-into-restaurant/ |title=RIVERSIDE: Stolen vehicle found smashed into restaurant |website=blog.pe.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327183718/http://blog.pe.com/crime/2014/03/27/riverside-stolen-vehicle-found-smashed-into-restaurant/ |archive-date=2014-03-27}} The driver pled guilty to a lesser charge and received a suspended sentence. The entire kitchen was rebuilt using an insurance payout and the restaurant re-opened at the end of July 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20140801/NEWS/140809990|title=Iconic Summit Inn diner in Oak Hills reopens|first=Shea|last=Johnson}}
The vintage building which once served as a Texaco station remained on the property, although gasoline was no longer sold there. The Summit Inn's small gift shop still sold Texaco-related memorabilia and a great many original metal oil company signs decorated the rest of the interior. Other signs included two circa 1939 Standard Oil signs featuring Mickey Mouse and a genuine reflectorized US 66 highway shield.
Notable clients included Elvis Presley (who kicked the jukebox as it had none of his records at the time – an oversight soon fixed{{cite book|url=http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/california/the-mojave-desert/review-429197.html |title=Summit Inn Review | The Mojave Desert |publisher=Fodor's Restaurant Reviews |access-date=2012-08-24}} – and left without eating{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mPr1WEUw6gC&pg=PR22 |title=The Route 66 Cookbook: Comfort Food from the Mother Road |author1=Marian Clark |author2=Michael Wallis |page=22 |date= 2003-03-01|access-date=2012-08-24|isbn=9781571781284}}), actor Pierce Brosnan, Pearl Bailey, Clint Eastwood and Danny Thomas.
On July 1, 2016, the business was sold to Katherine Juarez and her brother, Otto Recinos, who moved to the area after selling family real estate holdings in Los Angeles.
In popular culture
The 2006 game Mother 3 has a low quality photo of the café unused in the files.https://tcrf.net/Mother_3/Unused_Graphics
Business model
The menu at the Summit Inn was typical, inexpensive and satisfying roadside fare, but with a twist: Ostrich and buffalo products were also served, including an ostrich egg omelette and "buffalo burgers."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi7jfn8lmyAC&pg=PA677 |title=California |author=Sara Benson |page=677 |date= 2009-04-01|access-date=2012-08-24|isbn=9781741047394}}
During the restaurant's operating hours, the original red neon "SUMMIT INN" sign flashed on and off to beckon drivers on present-day Interstate 15. Antique cars could occasionally be spotted in the parking lot.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUDRHuV1UgMC&pg=PA42 |title=Route 66 in California |author=Glen Duncan |publisher=California Route 66 Preservation Foundation |page=42 |date= 2005-10-12|access-date=2012-08-24|isbn=9780738530376}}
2016 fire
On August 16, 2016, the diner was destroyed by the Blue Cut Fire.{{cite web | url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/19/us/california-blue-cut-wildfire/index.html | title=Southern California wildfire destroys iconic inn | publisher=CNN | date=20 August 2016 | access-date=20 August 2016}} The current owners of the business plan to rebuild, making it appear as identical to the old building as possible.
References
{{reflist}}
Category:Buildings and structures in San Bernardino County, California
Category:Burned hotels in the United States
Category:Defunct diners in the United States
Category:U.S. Route 66 in California
Category:Restaurants in California
Category:Tourist attractions along U.S. Route 66
Category:Tourist attractions in San Bernardino County, California
Category:Restaurants established in 1952
Category:1952 establishments in California