TV Restaurants

Is Clanton's Café Still Open? Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Update

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 2 Vinita, Oklahoma

Current status

Open

As of October 2026, Clanton's Café is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed July 1, 2026.

What the source shows: Route 66 Road Map, last modified 2026-07-01, described Clanton's Café as operating with posted hours and noted the café was put up for sale in 2025 with no indication of closure, and a Yelp listing updated September 2026 showed the business active with 201 reviews. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Clanton's Café in Vinita, Oklahoma in the 'Local Flavor' episode, spotlighting the diner's chicken-fried steak, made from its original recipe, along with calf fries and homemade pies. Farmer Grant 'Sweet Tator' Clanton opened the restaurant as the Busy Bee Café in 1927; it was renamed Clanton's Café and moved to its current East Illinois Avenue location in 1947, and Dennis Patrick and Melissa Clanton-Patrick have owned it since 1997, making it the oldest family-owned restaurant on Route 66 in Oklahoma. Route 66 Road Map reported on 2026-07-01 that the café was put up for sale in 2025 for the first time in its history, with the future ownership still undecided, while the business continued operating with posted hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. A Yelp listing updated in September 2026 showed Clanton's Café active with 201 reviews at 319 East Illinois Avenue.

The episode Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 2

Episode 4
Aired
Title: Local Flavor · What was featured: chicken-fried steak at Oklahoma's oldest family-run Route 66 café
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 2 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season 2: 36 of 45 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 2 episodes →

Nearest restaurants By distance from 319 E Illinois Ave

All 31 TV restaurants in Oklahoma →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 2 references

  1. route66roadmap.com https://route66roadmap.com/attractions/clantons-cafe-in-vinita-oklahoma/
  2. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/clantons-cafe-vinita
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Record ddd-0048 · checked by Cal Marchetti.