Hillbillee’s Cafe / Bed & Breakfast

The Hillbillee’s Cafe is a Roadside Landmark

I absolutely love driving Route 66. In fact, I’ll take it over the interstate any chance I get. For years, I’ve passed the abandoned Hillbillee’s Café with its bed-and-breakfast out back, wanting desperately to photograph it but never finding the right opportunity. The property kept changing hands, and I never knew who to ask, until now…

Everything changed when I spotted a news article by Oklahoman’s Steve Lackmeyer (LINK) announcing that someone had purchased the property with plans to the restaurant building in the front. They’d already added a building and converted some of the existing structures into the ‘Chicken Shack’. My first thought? Please let them restore the café too.
Thankfully, my hopes came true. Ed Lyda turned out to be the savior this landmark needed. His love for Route 66 poured through every quote in that article, and I knew I had to talk to him and hopefully wrangle a tour… *wink wink

That chance came naturally in July 2025, when the Oklahoma County Historical Society (an organization I’m proud to serve as an advisory board member) hosted an event at the Chicken Shack on Route 66. I was thrilled. When I pulled up, I immediately spotted the old restaurant and the “old country” style hotel rooms behind it again. Some work had clearly started, though the bed-and-breakfast still looked untouched. I met Ed that day, and just a few weeks later, I returned to finally photograph the building. So thank you, Ed, for letting me inside and for sitting down for an interview to learn all about this place.

A Brief History of Route 66 Royalty

The story of Hillbillees goes all the way back to the 1930s when it served as a Phillips 66 gas station along the Mother Road. Over the decades, it evolved, first into Larry’s BBQ, then into the themed roadside attraction that would become Hillbillees.

Then in the early 1990s, Wade and Norma Braxton transformed the property into something special. They kept the original 1930s café building facing Route 66, the one with the license-plate-covered walls and that iconic Hillbillee’s sign with the cowgirl logo. But they didn’t stop there. Behind it, they built a two-story “Old West town” of guest rooms, complete with wooden facades, balconies, and exterior staircases that made you feel like you’d stepped onto a movie set.

For over a decade, Hillbillees thrived. The café served up comfort food and the best breakfast around, while upstairs guests could rest their heads after a long day on Route 66. The property became more than just a place to eat and sleep. It hosted weddings, community events, and gatherings for the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. On weekends, the gravel lot filled with motorcycles and classic cars, their owners drawn by the whimsy and nostalgia of it all.

Closing of Hillbillee’s

In the mid 2000s, Wade Braxton’s health began to decline, and as a result, the couple made the difficult decision to close the restaurant and the B&B. Just like that, the doors shut for good, the neon went dark. And Hillbillees joined the ranks of abandoned Route 66 landmarks, in 2007. Until 2021, Hillbillees existed in limbo.

Enter Ed Lyda

Ed Lyda is in the restoration business, and he knows salvageable when he sees it and after fifteen years of vacancy, Ed saw an opportunity. “It was just so interesting,” he told me. “There’s still traces of the Hillbillees everywhere.” And I am so thankful, because where most people would have just demolished it, and built something new, he decided to do both. Preserve what was there and add onto it.

The location didn’t hurt his decision either, because Arcadia sits inside what Ed describes as a single square mile more packed with Route 66 history than just about anywhere on the Mother Road. “I think I got the best location on 66 in Oklahoma,” he said… and he’s not wrong. It’s right across the street from the famous “Round Barn” roadside attraction and he’s building an entire brand around it, what he calls “the 100 greatest miles.”

The Future of Hillbillee’s

With the Chicken Shack complete, Ed turned his attention to the old café building itself. The result is Blockman’s Chophouse, an all-Wagyu steakhouse and butcher shop now operating inside the same walls that once served biscuits and gravy to Route 66 road-trippers. Executive Chef Abraham Villarreal leads the kitchen, turning out cuts ranging from a $49 top sirloin to a $89 ribeye, Wednesday through Saturday. During the renovation, I had a chance to speak with the interior designer Julie, who comes from a construction background and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. “I’ve been unscrewing things and cleaning ductwork… I’ve bricked fireplaces,” she told me. “It’s really fun to kind of sweat with everybody and earn the transformation.” That ethos shows throughout the café building, where the original woodwork is still intact. “We haven’t changed that much of it, really,” she said. “We’ve kind of just tried to work with what’s here.” However, while the café is getting restored, the same cannot be said for the bed-and-breakfast out back.

While Ed and I were chatting, he mentioned that he really tried, and I really appreciate that. He explored every angle to find a use for it, but ultimately the structure couldn’t be saved, and it will eventually, have to come down. It’s a loss, but I get it. however, I do remain hopeful, that some of the materials from the building don’t all have to go to waste and can be used in several other ways from decorations, to materials for building something new in his place. It’s a loss… but at least this time, someone tried.

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