The café was built in 1924, two years before Route 66 was established. Rumor has it that it was frequented by gangsters like Al Capone. The Luna was a café on the ground floor, but had a gambling establishment in the basement and a "house of bad reputation" above. The neon sign in front that still stands has a cherry that uses ruby glass to enhance its red sheen. It is said that if the cherry was lit, the girls would be in the rooms. In its day, the café was a "gourmet restaurant" and so expensive that most law-abiding citizens could not afford to eat there