Holly-Park Service Station (Now Rudy’s Can’t Fail Café)
The beloved comfort food cafe was originally built c. 1920 as the Holly-Park Service station before becoming a Rio Grande Oil service Station.
It was later converted to a restaurant named the Ranch House. In 1964 it was acquired by Chinese immigrant Eugene Yee.
Eugene’s extreme value and speed was especially appealing to the blue-collar workers of the nearby factories.
Eugene’s Ranch House operated until 2000 but opted to close after Eugene’s passing.
They reopened as Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe two years later with Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt as one of their owners. The name is a reference to a lyric from the English punk band The Clash.
Rudy’s operated for 20 years but closed in 2022 amid the Coronavirus Pandemic. A small group of former employees purchased the restaurant a few months later and continue to operate it to this day.
