Super Smokers BBQ, a widely acclaimed St. Louis-area barbecue chain that included a location on Route 66 in Eureka, Mo., shut down its restaurants Thursday night, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The current owner says the restaurants never quite recovered after the economic downturn from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks. Super Smokers also was hurt by the death of a business partner two years ago and the recent spike in gas prices.
Its product was so good, it won the national title one year in the whole hog category of the Memphis in May World Barbecue Championships.

Byron Crawford, who says he was a former employee at the restaurant, says on his blog (warning: language that may be offensive lies ahead) that one of the secrets for the flavor of Super Smokers barbecue was how the employees … ahem … treated the wood to smoke the meat.

That secret ingredient? You guessed it, human piss.

I know, I was shocked too when I learned that the secret that gave Super Smokers BBQ its unique taste was that its employees, mostly the male ones, would pee on the pile of wood that was kept out back to be used in their smokers. The wood, of course, doesn’t come into direct contact with the meat, but the smoke that is produced when it’s burned slowly cooks the meat over the course of several hours. I’m not sure what exactly the piss adds to the process, but I did always notice that their meat had a certain citrus-y flavor.

No wonder it was a secret. Can you imagine the look on a health inspector’s face if he found out?

A meeting of the Waynesville (Mo.) Economic Development Committee contained a few items that should be of some interest to Route 66 aficionados. The Waynesville Daily Guide had the details.

• A businesswoman proposed that residents and businesses share in the cost to sponsor historic-looking lights to improve nighttime visibility along the Route 66 bridge over Roubidoux Creek west of downtown. A similar project was rejected by state officials, but officials plan to attend a seminar Jan. 22 by the Missouri Department of Transportation to see whether they can improve their chances of winning a grant.
• The committee learned that a grant may be available from the county tourism bureau for promoting the Trail of Tears, the route taken by American Indians when they were forcably deported to what is now Oklahoma. Some committee members said they’d like to see markers or historic displays along the trail route. The trail passed through Waynesville along what now is Route 66.
• Wayneville is taking a look at flood control in the downtown area, which Route 66 runs through. The town is surrounded by mountains, and runoff sometimes inundates downtown after heavy rains. Also, much of downtown was built on a natural spring, which exacerbates the problem.

Developers seek to buy a piece of land from the Grand Canyon Railway and build a $700 million theme park in the Route 66 town of Williams, Ariz., reports the Arizona Daily Sun.

It sounds like an awfully ambitious plan, however. Developers think they can draw 8 million to 10 million visitors to theme park, which is double what the Grand Canyon north of town sees each year.

Attractions at the park could include a performing arts pavilion, two roller coasters, a western theme park, a Route 66 attraction with sock hops, soda shops and car rallies and a Renaissance-Medieval section with a castle and jousting pit. A car sales area is also planned, which would sell cars with the park’s 9 percent tax.

Understandably, the county has asked for business plans and feasibility studies. The developers also have to secure $500 million in investment before they can acquire revenue bonds.

Color me skeptical.

Not only are tourists visiting the Route 66 desert town of Kingman, Ariz., but many of them are staying — for good, the Kingman Daily Miner reports.

According to the story, mailings of tourism packets have nearly doubled in a year. Motel taxes are on track to easily beat the previous record. Hits on Kingman’s tourism Web site, www.kingmantourism.org, have doubled in two years.

“Growth and tourism go hand-in-hand,” said Staca Hiatt, director of tourism for the Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce. “We get a lot of people who stop in as tourists, love the area and decide they want to live here.” …
“We are attracting a different type of tourist at the moment,” Hiatt said. “They are still visitors, but they are coming to check out our town and its real estate and are not the same as those on vacation.”

As for Route 66 tourism, it’s seeing a boost, too.

Shannon Rossiter, director of the Route 66 Museum and Mohave Museum of History & Arts, reported steadily increasing traffic at both museums.

“Growth is good. It’s great for us,” Rossiter said. “It’s picked up at least 5 percent a year. We’ve done much better.”

In August 2005, which Rossiter said was a typical month, 1,340 people visited the Mohave Museum of History & Arts, compared with 1,061 during the same month two years before.

“It’s a great place to stop in the middle,” Rossiter said. “As you see an increase in tourism, especially to the Grand Canyon, we get the residue from that.”

Route 66 tourism dropped sharply across the road after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks. This is yet another sign that it has recovered.

Barney’s Beanery, an old roadhouse on Route 66 in West Hollywood, Calif., is opening its third location in Pasadena. It also will be on Route 66, on Colorado Boulevard. Barney’s other location is in Santa Monica, also on 66.

Burbank Weekly has the details:

Barney’s Beanery Pasadena will be a near replica of the original Beanery’s rowdy atmosphere – complete with road signs and movie mementos on the walls, lounge booths and a ceiling of battered old license plates. The food, as always, will be pure American comfort, with breakfast served at all hours, world famous burgers, pizza, burritos and their claim to fame, “The Second Best Chili in Los Angeles.â€? …

“The history of Barney’s Beanery dates back to the 1920s when the original restaurant, located just off what was then Route 66, would pour a free beer for any tired new arrival to California who surrendered his or her out of state plates,â€? said (co-owner David) Houston. …

The original Barney’s Beanery boasts a history to impress even the best of name-droppers. Remembered as the gathering place for early glamour days stars like Greta Garbo and Clark Gable, and later counterculture musicians like Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, the West Hollywood venue is still going strong with regulars like Drew Carey, Adam Sandler and Quentin Tarantino, and a whole slew of notables that reads like the current guest list for The Tonight Show.

Just like the Barney’s Beanery in Santa Monica, the Pasadena site will be the third one that is located on Route 66. “This is really an odd coincidence, but we’re thrilled to keep the Route 66 tradition going,â€? said Houston. …

Barney’s Beanery gets its name from the original Depression-era roadhouse in West Hollywood when the restaurant used to serve its mainstay — beans — to customers on Route 66. The newest Barney’s Beanery site is located at 99 E. Colorado Blvd. in Old Town Pasadena. Barney’s Beanery, Santa Monica, is located at 1351 3rd St., just off of Santa Monica Blvd. on the Third Street Promenade. The original restaurant is located at 8447 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood.

The stock price of Pixar Animation Studios has been volatile in recent days, fueled by rumors that Pixar soon will have a new distribution deal with Disney. The deal will expire after the release of the Route 66-themed movie, “Cars,” on June 6.

A few observations:

• The L.A. Times reported Wednesday that negotiations have focused on Disney acquiring part or all of Pixar, in which Pixar Chief Executive Steve Jobs would become a major Disney shareholder and possibly the company’s chairman. Given Jobs’ success with Apple’s iPods and iTunes, such a marriage seems probable because Disney could benefit greatly from Apple’s entertainment technology.
• If a deal is struck, look for it before the release of “Cars.” Because Disney’s stock has been languishing for years, it can ill afford for Pixar to add another $200-million-plus-grossing movie to its portfolio and erode Disney’s already-anemic bargaining power.
• The departure of Michael Eisner as Disney chairman greatly improved the chances for Disney and Pixar to re-up its distribution deal. Eisner wore out his welcome years before he left his post in 2004.