Bar Lo Cafe
Last Saturday Roy's parents took me out for lunch at the Bar Lo Cafe (the red building above). It's one of a few places to eat in Haxtun and definitively the oldest of them. I would call it a traditional cafe that serves breakfast and lunch every day. It's where I go when I want a burger with fries. I bet they make darn good breakfast, too. I know they collect a lot of men every morning who sit and have their coffee while chewing the fat with each other. When I worked for the USDA, my coworker used to talk about the days when the people in our positions would actually get paid to go have coffee with the farmers. That probably was, and is, one of the best ways to network with the locals!
I wasn't taking pictures at coffee time, but here's Phil, one of the regulars. I bet he could tell you some stories!
Here's a picture of Sammi in the cafe. She took over the Bar Lo from her mother, Velda. You can't tell from the photo, but there are brands all over the wall, as in the kind of brands they put on cows. Bar Lo is actually the name of a brand that looks sorta like this: -LO (Get it? A bar and then LO) That's a good place to sit with someone like my husband and talk about brands. He would tell you all about how they're more valuable the simpler they are. Hm, maybe he'd give us a little lesson if we ask nicely.
I like to tell a little story about the Bar Lo from when I first moved to town. I was going to go to a meeting and I asked where it would be held. The woman said Velda's. Velda's? I had never heard of that cafe before, so I asked for directions and she gave me the location of the Bar Lo. Then I understood that she was referring to the owner, not the name of the restaurant (a common thing around here because everyone knows the owner of every business). Some people still call the Bar Lo the Home Cafe, too, which was the name before Velda owned it. It gets worse though. Later I was going to go to meeting and they said it was at the other place. What other place? Other than where? Turns out the little house next door to the Bar Lo is used as a meeting or party room rented out by the Bar Lo and it's name is The Other Place. Oh my goodness.
One common thing that everyone does in a small town when they go out to eat is look around at everyone there and try to figure out who they are. I don't think I've ever gone out to eat with anyone here who hasn't said, "You know who that is, right?" or "I just can't place that person" or "That's the son of the man who used to deliver papers on the east side of town ten years ago" (okay, I totally made that one up, but it wouldn't be too far fetched to hear it). That's just part of living somewhere where everyone is connected somehow. So don't be offended if you stop by the Bar Lo and it seems like the people at the next table are talking about you because they're just trying to relate you to their town. And if you're not already related, they might try to marry you off! Just kidding, we import spouse's pretty well around here - just look at me!
Bar Lo Cafe (map)
970-774-7418
On Highway 6 in Haxtun
Bar Lo menu
Here is a photo of something very common outside of the Bar Lo. No, that semi is not about to turn onto the next street. It's parked and the driver is inside having breakfast. I guess there just isn't a lot of semi-sized parking available!
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