Hi-Way Cafe

Take the highway or scenic byway to this Route 66 restaurant and roadside attraction: Hi-Way Cafe in Vinita, Oklahoma.

Hi-Way Cafe has been a popular stop for a bite to eat since 1963. Pull over on your Route 66 road trip for a delicious breakfast or lunch and to take photos with some of the fun on-site roadside attractions, like the world-record-earing sticker car and the Route 66 muffler man!

Hi-Way Cafe Restaurant

Tom Schwartz opened Hi-Way Cafe in 1963. Located on Route 66 and Jefferson Highway, it soon became a welcome stop for travelers on The Mother Road.

In 2011 Alan and Beth Hilburn (high school sweethearts who have been married for more than 33 years) purchased the business and have been running it ever since.

The menu features an array of diner fare and comfort classics. The all-day breakfast menu features pancakes, French toast, omelets, and a breakfast burrito. Or sample from the full menu to find sandwiches, hamburgers, spaghetti, Indian tacos, chicken fried steak, and more.

I just had to get the Route 66 Burger, a juicy bacon cheeseburger with grilled onions and mushrooms, with a side of their crispy homemade potato chips.

Before you leave be sure to sign the guestbook and place a flag pin on the world ap to show off where you’re from. And, if you’re feeling generous, pay it forward with Hi-Way Cafe’s “Giving Wall” that lets you donate a pre-paid meal for customers who can’t afford one.

Most Stickers on a Car World Record

Eat with a view of a record-winning car: the colorful 1963 AMC American Rambler in the dining room broke a Guinness World Record for “Most Stickers on a Car.”

In 2022 the synthetic motor oil brand Mobil 1 held a national event called “Keep Route 66 Kickin’.” With the mission to promote Route 66, they traveled across The Mother Road, stopping at small businesses along the way. With a custom Mobil 1 muffler man in tow, they set up fun events in various locations and set out to set records everywhere they went.

The tour started with a fanfest at Santa Monica Pier, made its way to Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman, Arizona to set a record for most milkshake flavors, went to Albuquerque New Mexico’s Clowndog Hot Dog Parlor to set a record for most corndogs eaten in 3 minutes, and ended at the Litchfield Skyview Drive-In in Illinois where it broke the world record of most dogs attending a film screening.

In Oklahoma, the Route 66 event stopped at Hi-Way Cafe in Vinita to set the record for Most Stickers on a Car. Using a 1963 American Rambler (a car from the same year the restaurant originally opened) more than 100 volunteers placed 60,066 half-inch stickers around the car’s body to create a mosaic-like image.

The final sticker was placed on Saturday, November 12, officially beating the former record of 41,500. The final car was unveiled in a celebration, with live music, food trucks, and an official declaration from Guinness World Record.

The stickered vehicle is now on display inside the restaurant in front of a large mural that celebrates the event and achievement.

To keep the party going, a second 1963 AMC American Rambler can be found outside of the restaurant and visitors are encouraged to leave their own stickers

Big Bill Muffler Man

As part of the “Keep Route 66 Kickin’” campaign, Mobil 1 brought a custom Muffler Man with them as they journeyed Route 66, setting it up at each of the record-breaking stops. to serve as a centerpiece for the festivities.

After the tour ended, Hi-Way Cafe was able to procure the giant and bring him back to be displayed there permanently. In July 2023 he came back to Oklahoma and is now proudly displayed outside the restaurant.

The 21-foot-tall muffler man stands tall next to a suitcase that is covered in stickers commemorating the stops on his Route 66 road trip. Since coming to the cafe, he’s been renamed “Big Bill” after the owner Beth’s father, the late Bill Wood.

The Big Indian

The Native American statue was made by Rodman Shutt, a sculptor from Strasburg, Pennsylvania who made giant sculptures across the Northeast in the 1960s and ‘70s. Since 1974, this sculpture stood outside Native and Himalayan Views (formerly the Big Indian Shop) near Charlemont, Massachusetts, along Route 2, also known as the Mohawk Trail.

In 2023, after months of opposition from local Indigenous groups and a widely-signed petition that said the work perpetuated racial stereotypes, the owners sold the piece to Alan and Beth Hilburn, who had it restored by American Giants in Illinois before moving it to Oklahoma.

You can now find the Native American statue across the parking lot from the Big Bill Muffler Man, near the Western Motel.

The Neon Sign

Like many businesses across Route 66, Hi-Way Cafe is home to an iconic neon sign that beckons passersby to pull over from the road.

In 2022, thanks in part to grants from the National Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program, the owners were able to restore their neon sign and make other improvements to the property.

Encinos Signs in Tulsa, Oklahoma restored the sign and on March 25, 2023, a relighting ceremony was held for a crowd of 200.

More Things to See at Hi-Way Cafe

The Big Bill muffler man, neon sign, and Big Indian aren’t the only things to see at Hi-Way Cafe! Also keep an eye out for Route 66 murals, a Big Boy statue, a Betty Boop statue, and an old 1963 AMC American Rambler outside.

Photos of Hi-Way Cafe in Vinita, Oklahoma

Plan Your Oklahoma Road Trip

Planning an Oklahoma road trip to see Hi-Way Cafe and all the best Route 66 attractions in Oklahoma? Plan your road trip with these road trip resources, road trip planning articles, and Route 66 road trip planners.

Roadside Attractions Near Hi-Way Cafe

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