Dannie Wright used to drive by the cluster of stone buildings at 2204 W. College Street — the former Rockwood Court motel on historic Route 66 — and imagine what could be.

"It was such a cool place," the Army veteran said.

The structures were built in 1929. For decades, the property served as a motor court for Route 66 travelers. In recent years, the main building housed a series of failed bars and diners.

It had been empty for about 18 months when Wright drove by one day "rubber-necking," as she put it, and the property owner was there.

Wright pulled over and asked what was going on.

"He was like, 'Well, I'm boarding up some windows and I need to get this place off my books. You want to buy it?'" Wright recalled, laughing. "I was like, 'Maybe.'"

And with that "maybe," Wright found herself on a path to happiness and what is now Bigfoot Subs, a diner where folks can get homemade soup, Texas-style chili and sub sandwiches bigger than their heads.

There's also a pool table, video games and board games.

"This is just a good place to bring your family and have fun," said Larry Wiles, a regular customer who had just polished off a bowl of chili. "This is a good place to eat. (Springfield's) west side needed that."

"The west side don't have a lot of money, but we like to go out to eat like everyone else," Wiles continued. "It rates 101 percent."

Wright is in the process of getting her license to sell beer — but just beer, she emphasized. City Council approved the request last week.

"I don't want to own a bar," she said. "I don't want the trouble that comes with it. But for a sandwich shop, to come in and play pool and have some beers — just that tiny bit of revenue (from beer sales) could really make the difference for me to make it or not."

Bigfoot Subs is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Wright said the hours might change some when the days grow longer.

Bigfoot Subs' target customers are the lunch crowd, Wright said, in particular those who live in west Springfield and those who work in and around downtown.

'The happiest I've ever been'

A Missouri State University alum, Wright earned a bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern Studies and master's in Defense and Strategic Studies.

She joined the Army, worked for the Pentagon for about a year and spent more than a decade in the Middle East as an intelligence officer. She ran the staff intelligence office in Bahrain and in Qatar.

Wright spent three years in a combat zone.

"I was just sick of it," she said. "It will take a piece of your soul, that job."

When she returned to Springfield a few years ago, Wright struggled.

"I wasn't doing so well," she said. "I was hospitalized for a short time and spent a couple of years trying to get myself pulled back together."

Wright then motioned to her nearby customers.

"And I decided this was it. Everything was falling into place," she said. "This is probably the happiest I've ever been in my whole life."

"The people that come in here are amazing," she continued. "I love this neighborhood."

Asked how much she's invested into the business, Wright grinned and shook her head.

"I have everything sunk in this. Trust me," she said. "And I have a couple other people's everything sunk into it."

Bigfoot Subs opened Jan. 1. Wright said she thought opening on a holiday would give her a chance to ease into the new business.

To her happy surprise, Bigfoot Subs had a very busy first day.

"That was really encouraging," she said.

'I just dug in harder'

Though it's hard to imagine now, with its fresh paint and squeaky clean floors, the kitchen was once "ankle deep in food and grease and roaches and dead mice," Wright said.

"It was awful," she said. "I'm the only person that was crazy enough to say, 'I can clean this up.' It took a long time to get here.

"This was a s***hole. I mean, it was bad," she said. "It took us five months to get it cleaned up. There were four construction Dumpsters full of disgusting-ness that we've had to haul off."

The man she bought the property from, Doug Anderson, is an old friend, Wright said. He has turned out to be one of her biggest supporters and investors.

Wright said she asked him once why he continues to help with a property he "wanted off his books."

"He said, 'When I see somebody carrying a bucket, I like to jump in and carry one with them.'"

Wright, with help from others, spent about five months cleaning and repairing the main building.

During that time, thieves helped themselves to tools six different times.

"That was not the welcoming committee I was expecting," said. "I just dug in harder. We ended up catching three of them."

It was during those months of construction that Wright encountered a woman named Amber, who would stop by every day on her bicycle.

"She never asked for anything. She would just show up like she wanted some place to be," Wright said.

It wasn't until it started to get cold this winter that Wright began wondering about where Amber spent the night.

After the first freezing night, Wright asked Amber where she slept.

"She was like, 'Well, you know, you don't sleep that well when it's this cold outside,'" Wright recalled Amber saying. "I was like, 'No. F*** that. You are going to be staying here now.'"

And with that, Wright put Amber into one of the two smaller, renovated units out back (Wright's brother lives in the other renovated unit).

Wright also hired Amber to work at Bigfoot Subs as her only waitress. The pair keep the diner running while Wright's brother handles maintenance.

"She works harder than anybody I've ever known," Wright said of Amber. "She is an extremely loyal, hard-working person."

Wright said she hopes to one day have the funds to renovate all of the units so they can be rented.

John Sellars, executive director of History Museum on the Square, said he is always happy to see historic structures saved and restored.

"You cannot emphasize enough the significance of Route 66 both in its heyday as the most modern means of transportation across America and today as a tremendous tourist attraction," Sellars said in an email. "Being the birthplace of Route 66 means we should do everything possible to restore iconic businesses like this one."

Hungry?

Bigfoot Subs is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

It is located at 2204 W. College St. Call 417-771-5333.

Follow Bigfoot Subs on Facebook.