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66 Diner in Albuquerque, NM
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66 Diner

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66 Diner is a 1950s-style diner in Albuquerque, NM, set in a building that opened in the 1940s as a Phillips 66 filling station with a repair bay. It stands on Central Avenue, the old Route 66, just east of downtown. Tom and Christy Willis turned it into a diner in 1987, and the Willis family still runs it. Old enamel signs and Phillips 66 memorabilia nod to the building's filling-station past.

What is 66 Diner?

The diner fills a white, streamlined building with glass-block and porthole windows and a "66 DINER" shield sign. The front dining area, soda fountain and kitchen sit in the old station building, and the former repair garage is the back dining room. An original hydraulic lift from the station days is still under the hopscotch pattern on the dining-room floor, and a 1958 jukebox that came through the fire still plays.

History of 66 Diner

Central Avenue carried US 66 through Albuquerque from 1937 until 1985. John H. Samuelson opened the station on it in the 1940s as Sam's 66 Service. Over the following decades the building housed several car sales and service businesses, and the Willises turned it into a diner in 1987.

In the mid-1990s a fire destroyed most of it, and it was rebuilt on the original footprint. Tom Willis died in 2021; Christy and her daughters, including co-owner Summer Willis, carry on.

Visiting 66 Diner: tips

The diner is right on Central Avenue, the old Route 66. The wall of old enamel signs on its east side makes a good photo, and inside, look down for the hopscotch floor over the old lift.

Updated · Written by Route 66 Trip Guide

Practical info

Address
1405 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Website
66diner.com
Hours
We have no opening hours for this stop yet — check the official site.
On site & nearby

Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix

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66 Diner with the 6 closest stops and other places to eat (fork and knife). Tap a marker for details.

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Stops near 66 Diner

All of New Mexico
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology in Albuquerque, NM

Maxwell Museum of Anthropology

Albuquerque, New Mexico · 0.2 mi from Route 66

Albuquerque's first public museum, an anthropology collection on the UNM campus near Central Avenue.

MuseumPhoto credit

0.4 mi from 66 Diner

Pig & Calf Lunch in Albuquerque, NM

Pig & Calf Lunch

Albuquerque, New Mexico · on Route 66

A mid-1930s Moderne lunch stand in Albuquerque, listed on the National Register in 1994.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

0.5 mi from 66 Diner

University of New Mexico Arboretum in Albuquerque, NM

University of New Mexico Arboretum

Albuquerque, New Mexico · 0.2 mi from Route 66

The whole UNM campus doubles as an accredited arboretum, with some 235 kinds of trees and shrubs.

Nature & parksPhoto credit

0.5 mi from 66 Diner

University of New Mexico Art Museum in Albuquerque, NM

University of New Mexico Art Museum

Albuquerque, New Mexico · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A free campus museum in Albuquerque with nearly 30,000 works, the largest fine art holding in New Mexico.

MuseumPhoto credit

0.6 mi from 66 Diner

Huning Highlands Conoco Service Station in Albuquerque, NM

Huning Highlands Conoco Service Station

Albuquerque, New Mexico · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A 1937 cottage-style Conoco station of white glazed brick, now home to an Albuquerque preservation group.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

0.6 mi from 66 Diner

Lobo Theater in Albuquerque, NM

Lobo Theater

Albuquerque, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1938 movie house on Central Avenue named for UNM's Lobos, back in business as an event venue.

Route 66 sitePhoto credit

1.1 mi from 66 Diner

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