The Golden Light Cafe

History

Chester “Pop” Ray and his wife, Louise, established the Golden Light Café in 1946 on Route 66 at the same Sixth Avenue address it still uses. Pop fell ill just before opening, so his son Charles and Charles’s wife, Edye, served the first day—hamburgers from plywood booths that grossed $10.48. Pop ran it until 1957, then sold to Dorothy Gaulden, who kept it until 1979. Bill and Pat Alexander were next, and fourth owner Marc Reed added the Cantina in 1996, which became Amarillo’s main room for national and local live music.