Route 66 is 100 this week. Are its small-town businesses celebrating?

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred Along 2,400 miles of Route 66, small towns and road-trippers will be marking the highway’s 100th anniversary Wednesday.But for many business owners along the Mother Road, the birthday gifts have been coming in for months, thanks to a surge in spending by centennial travelers.Hundreds of small businesses invested in upgrades and celebrations for 2026 — particularly during summer’s busy road trip season — including concerts, car shows, signs, murals, publications and a 19-day national caravan that began in Santa Monica in June.

“I’d say we’ve had probably double the travelers and double the spending,” said Gar Engman, owner of TeePee Curios, a novelty shop in Tucumcari, N.M., comparing this year with 2025.Travel & Experiences If you’ve ever daydreamed about covering some part of the famous roadway, hop on in.Not every entrepreneur had numbers that rosy, and there’s no official measure of this year’s business along the route.

But after driving the route myself for a Times travel guide that published in May, I reached out this week to several entrepreneurs I met on the way, and most said business was up sharply this year.In addition, many said they were seeing more Americans on the road this year — a notable trend, since international travelers have been the lifeblood of Route 66 for many years.All along the road, there had been doubts about centennial traffic, given gas prices (up 30% from last year) and the many Route 66 devotees who come from countries that have been maligned or targeted for higher tariffs by President Trump, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Several entrepreneurs along the road said some international travelers did stay away, including Canadians who have been avoiding U.S.travel since 2025, when President Trump made comments about annexing Cana...