Kansas Route 66 - Riverton

Eisler Bros., 2008

Eisler Brothers Store on 66, 2008

Inside Eisler Brothers Store, from 2008. A classic Route 66 roadside business. 2008

James Dean was spotted shopping at Eisler Brothers Store, 2008

Scott Nelson, 2008

RIVERTON, KANSAS. I didn't have the heart to bother Scott Nelson, president of the Kansas Route 66 Association, when I spotted him inside of Eisler Brothers Store during this trip. Scott also happens to own the place, and he was busy serving his lunchtime customers in a very crowded store. But I had met Scott before, in 2008, when the store was less busy and he was happy to pose behind the counter, and I could take these photos in a nearly empty shop. We wish him every success with his small business, and with his overseeing of the famous 13.2 miles of Kansas 66. Oh, and the place hasn't changed a bit!
      Eisler Brothers was first opened in 1925 by Leo Williams and his wife Lora, who ran a general store inside and had gas pumps outside to draw in the early Route 66 traffic. Joe and Isabell Eisler of Allen, Texas, purchased and renamed the store in 1973, and operated the business for many years as a local convenience store and 66 attraction. (They even kept the original tin roof that I didn't know about. Never looked up even once.) The Eislers passed on in the late 2000's, and I found a nephew of the former Texans, Scott Nelson, behind the counter during my 2008 visit. In 2011, Mr. Nelson purchased the business from the Eisler's estate.