Classic Scene: Meet You at the Ace

By Robert Smith
Updated on April 11, 2024
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by Robert Smith
The Ace is at the same location where it opened in 1938.

Alice’s Restaurant, Full Throttle Saloon, Ace Cafe London … these destinations are required visiting for followers of biker culture. Alice’s Restaurant (the song and movie notwithstanding) is in Woodside, California, at the junction of La Honda Road and Skyline Boulevard; the Full Throttle is famously in Sturgis, South Dakota; and while there is an Ace Cafe in Orlando, Florida, the original stands where it first opened in 1938 as a 24/7 diner and truck stop. The Ace’s history is widely known and well recorded in places like its own website, in Mick Duckworth’s book Ace Times and in general motorcycle media.

It’s a story I’ve followed with interest over the years, growing up as I did less than 10 miles from the Ace. But it was off limits to me and my Vespa; in the days of Mods and Rockers conflict, had I ventured onto the site in my parka and desert boots, I’d have been as popular as a root canal.

No longer. Now, the Ace is a welcoming watering hole for 2-wheeled travelers of all persuasions. In the ’60s, the North Circular Road fed its traffic right into the Ace, but the mayhem has been moved to a new highway and the Ace now sits on a quiet access road.

And the Ace is much more than a cafe. It’s a movement that has endured, especially for the 25 years between the closure of the cafe in 1969 and the Ace Cafe Reunion in 1994 — the time when it was a tire store. Since the Ace reopened in 1997, there are events most evenings and weekends, including an annual Ace Reunion every September. Apart from that, there are meet-ups for every make of motorcycle and many car clubs, too. Friday night is always bike night, and the tradition of riding to the Ace on Sundays is still popular.

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