In its early days, weekly dances and bingo nights accompanied the blue-plate specials at the Palms Grill Café, which also served as Atlanta's Greyhound bus stop, where riders turned on the light above the door to signal the bus to pick them up. Located directly across Route 66 from the mural, the café served Atlanta's citizens and a steady stream of Route 66 travelers from 1936 until the late 1960s. Its first owner, Atlanta native Robert Adams, named it after a restaurant he frequented during trips to California. In June 2003, Steve Estes of Possum Trot, Kentucky, completed the "Palms Grill Café" mural during the "LetterRip on Route 66" gathering of approximately 100 Letterheads in Atlanta, a group of sign painters from across the United States and Canada interested in preserving the art of painting outdoor signs and murals.