Great Falls Village Center is once again home to the popular Saturday morning Katie’s Cars and Coffee. Photo by Mercia Hobson.
Whether it is their fascination with antique, collector, exotic, or muscle cars, owners and enthusiasts are back bright and early Saturday mornings from 6 to 9 a.m. at Katie’s Cars and Coffee for their vehicle sensory overload. Located next to The Old Brogue at 760 Walker Road, off historic Georgetown Pike in Great Falls, visitors never know what may pull in and roll down the pavement at the loosely organized event.
Will there be a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429, a 1936 Dodge D100, or what about a Cheetah designed and engineered entirely with American components?
Milt Gilmore stopped by for the first time this year with his vehicle, a replica Cheetah. “Anybody can ride in it. Most people don’t want to, especially my wife…It’s never been washed. I got one of those fuzzy wand things to get the pollen off before I spray wax.”
Luca Gationie-Celli thought he was hallucinating when he saw the Bill Thomas Cheetah replica. “It’s one of those legendary cars. You only see a couple of pictures of them online…It’s very special to be back [at Katie’s] because you see unique things here, like this car.”
Friend Kevin Wang of Herndon was equally blown away. Wang said he got into cars during the lockdown. I’ve been waiting to come. It’s really exciting that I can finally look at exotic cars. And it’s wonderful to have coffee from Katie’s too.”
Nigel Dalagan agreed. “I figured it’s a great way to check out old engineering, and I’m trying to digest everything that I see, suspension, engine build, modifications. It’s ‘nerdgasmic’ for me.”