Route 66 in the News
Restaurateur Takes Over Route 66 Town
2005-05-01 09:06:57
A restaurateur from San Bernardino with great interest in the history of Route 66 has purchased the town of Amboy to build goodwill for future expansion to the Tri-state area.
The $425,000 transaction is set to close escrow May 3, and includes the 150-acre town, 540 additional acres of surrounding land, the town office and gift shop, a cafe, four homes, a gas station with underground tanks recently brought up to government standards, a post office leased to the U.S. Postal Service, 20 motel rooms and eight cabins in varying states of repair, a church and two runways.
Although Amboy was founded by miners in the 19th century, the town 80 miles west of Needles hit its stride when Route 66 was completed in the 1920s. As the only place for automobile repairs for miles around in the Mojave Desert, the town operated 24 hours a day, providing accommodation to motorists waiting for work on their cars to be finished.
Several sources claim that Amboy's population peaked at 500. It had two motels, three restaurants, three gas stations, a post office, a church, and a school in the Needles Unified School District.
Amboy declined when Interstate 40 opened in the early 1970s, taking traffic away from the town. There were only a handful of people living on the site 10 years ago when it was sold by the Burris family, which had been involved in the town since its glory days.
Buyer Timothy White, a New York photographer, and his partner Walt Wilson arranged for Amboy to be used in a number of movies, commercials, videos and photo shoots. Apparently these ventures were insufficient to recoup their investment, since Bessie Burris repossessed the property earlier this year.
Albert Okura said the idea of owning a town has always been at the back of his mind. In April 2003 the town of Amboy was listed on eBay and Okura was prepared to buy it for $1.2 million.
When he had to pull out because he found out his accountant had "screwed up" his taxes and he owed $250,000, he thought he would never get the town because the price would rise too high by the time he had his finances together again.
Fortunately he was mistaken. On March 24 of this year Okura got word that Amboy would be sold later that day for the best cash offer. Unable to reach his attorney he wrote out his own offer, and signed a deal with owner Bonnie Burris the next evening.
According to Okura, Burris had received a higher offer, but that buyer wanted Amboy for personal use. Okura thinks he made an impression on Burris with his plans to preserve the town.
"Amboy is a natural extension for us," explained Okura. "It fits in with what we're doing."
Burris wants to keep the history of Amboy alive, according to Okura, and he wanted to be part of that. She had faith that he would pull that off, Okura added.
Juan Pollo, the rotisserie chicken chain that Okura started in 1984, now has 30 locations in the Inland Empire. The corporate headquarters in San Bernardino is on Route 66 and on the site of the original McDonald's, and includes a free museum of both of those heritages.
"I made good money expanding my stores in the Inland Empire," said Okura. "Now I want to give back."
Okura says he would maintain a low-key presence in Amboy and definitely not open a Juan Pollo there, as it wouldn't fit in.
"The goal is to keep it the way it is," said Okura.
Once escrow closes he hopes to restore electricity and water to the town. The county shut off the electricity when it was inspected during escrow, as it was completely outdated, according to Okura.
Once these services are restored Okura plans to look for retired people to live in Amboy to take care of the tourists. He says he will not try to gouge tourists on prices, but charge the same as they would pay in urban areas.
He also plans to give out free information sheets and construct free RV parking.
Okura anticipates a population boom in the high desert because of escalating housing costs in the Inland Empire. He hopes to eventually open restaurants in Needles, Bullhead City, Laughlin, Barstow and Baker.
~Lee Choquette, Mojave Daily News
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