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Pete's Cafe (second location) (closed)
12847 West Highway BB
Rocheport, MO 65279Of all of the restaurants along Route 40, Pete's was a legend.
Founded by Pete Christus, this venerable eatery (originally located at 314 Main Street in Boonville) did well as a result of clever advertising. Christus placed hundreds of signs along approaching highways for his restaurant - many of which were placed at the end of Burma Shave signs. (If you remember the old South of the Border signs on the east coast you'll get the idea). The technique worked and visitors flocked to this humble restaurant on Boonville's Main Street.
When Interstate 70 bypassed Boonville and Pete's, Christus took a gamble and relocated his restaurant from Boonville to an offramp setting in nearby Rocheport. A few years later, Pete's closed for good.
The original Main Street location remains and the last time I drove through Boonville it was the home of the local Chamber of Commerce. The Rocheport location is now the retail center for Bourgeois Winery.
View user comments below.
| Posted by: macjimco on Friday, February 19, 2016 at 11:03:11 AM
I was born in St. Louis in 1946.
We used to take family vacations from Kirkwood to Colorado and Wyoming on Route 40, or drive to California on old Route 66.
I remember seeing all these "Pete's Café" signs along Rte. 40. They were just a red sign, shaped like a stop sign, with the words "Pete's Café" on them. Hundreds or maybe thousands of these signs, sometimes 10 in a row.
the original Pete's Café was in Boonville, MO on the main street. Long gone now. |
| Posted by: macjimco on Friday, February 19, 2016 at 11:04:53 AM
I was born in St. Louis in 1946.
We used to take family vacations from Kirkwood to Colorado and Wyoming on Route 40, or drive to California on old Route 66.
I remember seeing all these "Pete's Café" signs along Rte. 40. They were just a red sign, shaped like a stop sign, with the words "Pete's Cafe" on them. Hundreds or maybe thousands of these signs, sometimes 10 in a row.
the original Pete's Café was in Boonville, MO on the main street. Long gone now. |
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Last updated: 2009-10-04 08:56:58 |
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