Flo's Alpiner
Built in 1934
STewards of yesterday
Flo's Alpiner
Though the building itself was constructed in 1934, its story reaches much farther back—its upper portion is a repurposed cabin from Rockaway’s earliest days, making it the oldest surviving structure in town. The past quite literally sits atop the present here.
Its first chapter as Flo’s Alpiner set a friendly, familiar tone. Later, Mrs. Ina Bennett purchased the building and ran it as Bennett’s Café until 1947. After that, Mary Ann Mavcock and Minnie Parks took the helm, renaming it Bennett’s Mary Ann Café, where regulars gathered daily until 1959.
The café then returned to the Bennett name under Gail and Clara Ramey, until Clara put her own stamp on it in 1965, renaming it Ramey’s Café. In 1977, Clara married and became Mrs. Nowlin, and she eventually sold the café to Jerry Prosek, who revived the alpine theme with The Alpiner.
But in 1978, Florence Johnson looked back to the beginning and restored the building’s original name: Flo’s Alpiner.
Today, nearly a century after the old cabin was first built, the place continues to welcome locals and travelers alike, now known as Grumpy’s Café, a gathering spot layered with stories in every board and beam.