Sunday afternoon event resonates with community
Classic cars, classic roast coffee, and a classically good time – all were on hand Sunday at Camille’s Sidewalk Café’s “Cars and Coffee.”
In its third year, the event is already becoming a Gallup institution. Each Sunday from roughly April to November, car enthusiasts gather at Camille’s to show off their latest project, to trade stories, and of course to sip on some world class coffee. The cars, and motorcycles too, are as varied as their owners.
You have newer cars like Daniel González’s 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. Stock, Gonzalez’s Hellcat is pushing 707 horsepower and can go 0-60 in 3.6 seconds. But this was a car show, these cars are pet toys, and his car was far from stock.
González was at the show to meet up with friends and was so interested in participating that he pulled his car out of the shop before his most recent modifications were finished. In the veteran-heavy crowd, González was emphatic that he only buys American cars, and said he does it “to help support the troops, because if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”
There were classic trucks as well, like Jody Sanchez’s flat black ’53 Chevy truck. Jody is owner of Jody Sanchez Academy of Karate in downtown Gallup, and is also the proud owner of a ’64 Impala, a ’66 Cobra, and a ’23 T-Bucket Roadster. Sanchez got his love of karate from his father who also ran a dojo as Sanchez was growing up. And these days Sanchez shares his love of both karate and his classic car collection
George and Terry Athens were there as well, with George Athens’ black ’63 Corvette. While George Athens owns a used car lot, his wife Terry Athens said that “rebuilding cars is his true passion,” and that rebuilding the Corvette had been “a two-and-a-half-year project.” When teased that George Athens had more cars than he did, Sanchez laughingly said “his garage is much bigger than mine, and he has a car lot. That kind of helps.”
Not to be left out, there was also a collection of Harley Davidson’s at Camille’s, led by the Navajo Hopi Honor Riders and the Eastern Agency Honor Riders. That morning, the riders had done a benefit ride for a 10-month-old little girl who was born blind and required surgery out of state.
In addition to the benefit ride, Merle Dixon of the Navajo/Hopi riders said they “also support our brothers and sisters by doing veteran home escorts and funeral escorts.”
Cars and Coffee starts at noon and goes until roughly 2 pm, however the start time is a bit soft. James Rich, the owner of Camille’s, said that they “used to have a shotgun start right at noon, but now everyone shows when they show,” and as the afternoon got a bit later, more and more people started to arrive, with the variety of cars continuing to expand.
This wasn’t just a “car show,” however, it was also a family friendly event with several families stopping by for breakfast and staying to check out the cars and talk with the drivers.
It was a stark contrast to most of the restaurants downtown, which were either not very busy or for the most part, closed.
Rich said that traffic on Sundays “used to be slow enough that they had considered closing on Sundays,” but with the success of Coffee and Cars “it gave us a reason to stay open on Sundays.” As the show continues to grow Rich would like to see it expand, potentially with music, entertainment, and fun things to do for the kids.
While the show is each Sunday, the first Sunday of each month is a special one for the drivers. During that day the drivers, and a guest if they choose, get free food and drinks. In addition, there are prizes, games, and a variety of contests. The drivers themselves view the event as a great chance to socialize, with one remarking to Rich “thanks for having this and giving us a chance to hang out”
Rich is also looking at introducing what he calls a “Café Racer” to add some additional interest. As much as that sounds like people running around a track with hot coffee trying not to spill it on themselves, that’s not exactly what it is. The Café Racer would be an event where the drivers follow a prescribed course while being timed. However, the objective is not to come in the fastest, but rather come in closest to the prescribed time. So, for instance, the drivers might follow a prescribed four-mile route, and whoever came in closest to the target time would win.
All in all, Cars and Coffee is a great event with good times, cool cars, great food and coffee.
By Jonathan Gregg
Sun Correspondent
