Red Cedar Inn: This Pacific destination is full of Route 66 memorabilia and gifts.
Located on Historic Route 66, the Pacific-based attraction, Red Cedar Inn Museum & Visitor Center, has become a renowned pit stop honoring Route 66, the town of Pacific, and the former Red Cedar Inn Restaurant that operated in the building until 2005.
Built with logs from trees on the founding family’s farm, the original restaurant, which opened in 1934, became known for its fried chicken. By 2017, the city of Pacific bought the building from the owners before investing two million dollars for its restoration and refurbishment, says Kelly O’Malley, director of tourism for the city of Pacific.
Today, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At the museum, there’s a genealogy center, a kids’ activity room featuring a sandbox and train tables, and a family-friendly game area.
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One section of the museum depicts local history, while another illustrates the history of the building and the family who owned the Red Cedar Inn Restaurant. The city also retained the restaurant’s original 1934 bar and a post with carvings of guests’ initials.
But the building’s historic relationship to Route 66 is its biggest draw. The adventure begins outside, where a 12 foot Route 66 sign and a Route 66 mural await visitors who want to pose for a selfie or family photo. After entering the building’s bright red double doors, a large Route 66 shield decorates the floor.
The gift shop offers plenty of Route 66 memorabilia and gifts, plus old-fashioned candy and locally made prod- ucts. Visitors can purchase Route 66 hoodies, hats, T-shirts, and button-down shirts. There are also magnets and stickers, plus key chains, road signs, shields, license plate signs, and patches. Most of the puzzles for sale also honor the Mother Road.
Slovakian artist Marián Pavel, who travels Route 66 each year, created a nationwide Route 66 passport, which features up to 50 places to visit along the highway. Many fans of Route 66 seek stamps for their passports at Red Cedar Inn.
“The goal is to collect all the stamps, and at the end of the route, they get a certificate of completion,” Kelly says. “International travelers really like this. There’s also a stamp available outside if no staff are there.”
• 1047 East Osage Street, Pacific • Find on Facebook at Red Cedar Inn & Tourism Pacific, MO
All photos are from Red Cedar Inn Museum & Visitor Center.
This article was originally printed in the March/April 2026 issue of Missouri Life.
