W Cafe in Gunnison, CO

Old Cafe, Old Sign

I spotted this yellow sign, as soon as we hit downtown Gunnison. An old cafe with a vintage neon sign. How could we resist?

But, W Cafe wasn't open that day. The door was ajar, but there was a note taped to it, telling us they would be closed for two days of cleaning. 

Rats!

But then we realized our route would be taking us back through town in a couple of days.

​Back Again

It was the beginning of June, the day we returned. The trees were full of blossoms on Main Street. When the wind blew, it snowed.

Open Door
​

We parked around the corner and passed some colorful hanging baskets. The door was open again, but there was no note.

​Before Noon
​

The diner was between rushes, when we arrived. We had our pick of about 8 booths, all cozied right up to the shiny-rough, pine wood.

​We sat beneath one of the many nostalgia shelves.

We even had our own little wall sconce to light up our menu.

​Yay! Breakfast served entire day!

But the entire day ended at 2:00, so we were glad we got there before noon. We placed our orders and got ready to chow.

Delirious

I look a bit insane in this ready-to-eat pose. Maybe I had too much coffee. I don't usually have coffee with lunch, but Charlton asked if I wanted some and I couldn't say no. He was too sweet and he put my diner mug down on a doily!

Our waitress was a more typical, all business, server. She brought our orders pretty promptly.

Hefty Servings

My half-order special, was pretty huge for $8.99. Hot open face turkey sandwich, with mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce... and a container of cranberry sauce.

Don got the daily breakfast special, of Huevos Rancheros with hash browns. Both were nice and hot and flavorful. There was no doily for the china to rest on, but I kind of liked the retro texture of the naugahyde table cover. Or was that oil cloth?

Don Poses
​

Don did his pose for me. I made sure to include a little peek of the room behind him. The teenagers at the table in the far corner were having a good time.

Stainless Steel!
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I was pretty impressed with the shiny cooler behind Don. I didn't spot any fingerprints, so I'm guessing that was one of the things that got a big cleaning, during the closure.

Treasures on the Wall

I of course had to wander a bit, to check out all the stuff on the shelves.

When the teen table emptied in the back, I headed over to have a look at the best corner. I love kid related antiques.

Charlton was busing tables and I asked him about the child's western attire, displayed on the wall. "Oh, that was my brother's!" he said, pointing ( I believe) to the shirt and boots. He said the chaps belonged to his grandfather or great grandfather. He wasn't sure which. He said the elephant marionette was very old.

He pointed out the framed stars on another wall and a hand-crank ice crusher that had been in his grandparents' house. He seemed so delighted that I seemed interested at all. He said his mom was the owner and had been for about 10 years. 

Charlton seemed extra excited when he heard we were from Texas. He had family in Amarillo and Bandera. I thanked him so much for sharing with me and asked if he'd want to be in one of my photos. "Oh, probably not," he smiled. "I'd be too shy." I said I understood and thanked him so much for keeping my coffee nice and hot, because he really had. I wish I had a photo of Charlton. I wonder if he was named for the actor?

What's With the W?

​​I never found out what the "W" was for, in W Cafe. I should have asked the nice man, dining by himself near the front window. Before heading off, I asked him about the sign on the wall, over his head. "I've been coming here since 1973, " he said. "That sign's been here forever."

I asked what it was from.. or for. He kind of shrugged.

"They're just being funny, I guess."

That was sort of a lame question on my part.

I never found out the age of the cafe, although I did read that they had a full remodeling in the mid-fifties.  That's old! Even older than me. We were a good fit!