Bagdad Cafe Route 66

Bagdad Cafe on Route 66 in Newberry Springs, California, is a must-stop while traveling Mother Road. In the middle of the Mojave Desert, Bagdad Cafe was the set location for a 1987 cult classic film directed by Percy Adlon. Check our photos and tips from this iconic place!

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Bagdad Cafe on Route 66 – Introduction

“A desert road from Vegas to nowhere
Someplace better than where you’ve been
A coffee machine that needs some fixing
In a little cafe just around the bend

I am calling you
Can’t you hear me?
I am calling you“

Jevetta Steele’s song Calling You from “Bagdad Cafe” has become the informal anthem of dreamers traversing Route 66.

We love cinema, especially old classics, and movies that offer the viewer more than computer special effects. We also love film locations; we like to visit weird, often abandoned places or inconspicuous towns where cult series and films were shot. So, Chris and I have been to this place during our RV road trip. ANd we share our photos and insights from visiting this place.

That’s why we could not pass up the Bagdad Cafe – an unassuming cafe on the roadside of California. It was the filming location of the 1987 indie cult classic of the same name, Bagdad Café, by German filmmaker Percy Adlon. If you plan a trip to California, consider adding Bagdad Cafe to your itinerary.

Road Trip across Route 66 as the movie inspiration

The script of Bagdad Cafe was inspired by a road trip along famous America’s Route 66 that German director Percy Adlon and his wife Eleanor, a producer, took in 1984. They were enthralled by the small cafe near the town of Barstow, California.

The cafe wasn’t always the Bagdad Cafe. Until the producers chose it as the location for their film, it was known as the Sidewinder Cafe. The name “Bagdad” referred to a ghost town 50 miles east of Route 66 called Bagdad, a reference to its location in the driest corner of the contiguous United States.

In 1995, the real owners of the cafe officially changed the name from Sidewinder Cafe to Bagdad Cafe.

Bagdad Cafe – Movie Plot

Premiere

Bagdad Cafe, which premiered on November 12, 1987, is an American-German production directed by Percy Adlon. Despite winning several European film awards, Baghdad Cafe was not successful in America but gained more popularity among European audiences. The song “Calling You,” sung by Jevett Steele, was a composition by Bob Telson nominated for the Oscars in 1989 for Best Song.

The Plot

The story is a bit weird and belongs to the genre of drama-comedy. A Bavarian, conservative tourist named Jasmin, who wears a hat with a feather and has a little excess weight, has an argument with her husband in the middle of the sun-drenched Arizona desert. She has left him.

She finds refuge in a miserable, forgotten hotel in a remote area called the Bagdad Cafe. The motel is located in the middle of the Mohave Desert – somewhere between Las Vegas and ” nowhere”.

Under the influence of a lonely German woman, the dreary and gray place soon gains color. The owner of the Bagdad Cafe is liberated black woman Brenda, who lives with two teenage children, a baby, a lost Italian cook, a tattoo artist, and a down-and-out former Hollywood decorator.

Jasmin immediately starts doing major cleaning at the Bagdad Cafe. But she slowly succumbs to the atmosphere in the desert environment. Her traditional Bavarian uniform gives way to a shirt and pants. The differences between the women seem insurmountable at first. But soon it turns out that the ladies cannot live without each other, and the friendship that unites them will change their lives so far.

Stars

Starring: Marianne Sägebrecht as Jasmin Münchgstettner, CCH Pounder as Brenda, Jack Palance as Rudi Cox, Christine Kaufmann as Debby, and Monica Calhoun as Phyllis. The film story was inspired by Carson McCullers’ novella The Ballad of the Sad Café (1951).

Bagdad Cafe – TV series

In 1990, the film was remade as a television series starring James Gammon, Whoopi Goldberg, Cleavon Little, and Jean Stapleton. Moreover, in the TV version, Stapleton played the tourist and Goldberg the restaurant owner. In the TV version, the tourist was no longer from Germany. The series was shot in the traditional sitcom format. However, it wasn’t popular and was, therefore, canceled after two seasons.

How to get to Bagdad Cafe on Route 66?

Bagdad Cafe is located on the old Route 66, in Newberry Springs, California. It’s between Barstow and Ludlow on National Trails Highway.

• From the End of the Trail Route 66 in Los Angeles is 152 miles east via I-15 N and I-40 E. Driving time is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.
• It’s also a perfect stop if you are driving from Las Vegas. Via I-15 S is only 146 miles and 2 hours and 20 minutes of driving.
• However, if you are in the area, you can’t miss the fabulous Roy’s Motel & Cafe in Amboy, which is only 55 minutes of driving (57 miles) via I-40 E and National Trails Hwy. So, make sure to visit both places as they are iconic on Route 66. The road leads through a desert full of ruins on the roadside.
• If you are driving from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon take I-40 W and drive via the Best Route 66 Towns in Arizona, such as Williams and Seligman. From Tusayan to Bagdad Cafe is 348 miles.

Bagdad Cafe on Route 66 Today – what to expect?

The café was still open at the time of our visit. Its interior was filled with hundreds of flags worldwide, stickers, banknotes, and souvenirs from the movie and the series.

The guest books overflow with comments from all over the world, dating back several decades.

For us, it was a great stop in the desert for a cup of coffee and an American burger. The Bagdad Cafe menu offered classics like fries, burgers, and sandwiches. Our burgers were fresh and delicious, chili con carne was well-seasoned. The service was great as well, and we chatted with the waitress for several minutes about the history of Bagdad Cafe.

But unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has come, the world has closed, and the tourist traffic has stopped. Bagdad Cafe was also closed at that time.

What’s more, vandalism, and other misfortunes wreak havoc on Bagdad Cafe and its owner. After COVID-19, in August 2021 the Bagdad Cafe windows were vandalized. There was an announcement of fundraising on Facebook to support Andrea Pruett, longtime owner of the Bagdad Cafe. Fortunately, the damage was repaired and Bagdad Cafe still hosts tourists.

It is worth buying a little something in their souvenir shop to support the owners of Bagdad Cafe. The traffic on Route 66 is very light and it is difficult to stay in business.

Pro Tip: Before you go to Bagdad Cafe on remote Route 66 check their official Facebook website if they are open or call +1 760-257-3101.

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