Harvelle's Roadhouse

Harvelle's Roadhouse in 2.03 Bloodlust.

The Harvelle's Roadhouse, or simply the Roadhouse, was a bar owned and managed by Ellen and Jo Harvelle, and was named after Ellen's deceased husband Bill Harvelle. It was frequented a lot by hunters including Ash who was also a permanent fixture here. It was destroyed by demons, killing all inside, Ellen escaped because she was out buying pretzels. Jo had left six months earlier to go hunting, against her mother's wishes.

Judging by the tourists who appeared in 2.06 No Exit, the Roadhouse is located somewhere in Nebraska or in one of its neighboring states. On the "Road So Far" map distributed by the official Supernatural Magazine, it shows Harvelle's Roadhouse in central Nebraska.

Hunters we know who frequent - or have at some time frequented - the Roadhouse include:

• John Winchester
• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Bobby Singer
• Gordon Walker
• Caleb
• Asa Fox
• Rick
• Shawn
• Danny (according to Jo's Journal, was replaced by Ash aka 'Miles' in Jo's Journal)
• Jake Reilly

Ellen and Jo Harvelle in 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown.

Some of these hunters appear to have Hunter's Blogs.

We know from Gordon in 2.10 Hunted that someone from the Roadhouse passed on information about Sam's psychic abilities.

The word 'Harvelle' is an Old English girls' name, meaning "soldier" or "warrior."

• First seen in 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown.
• Last seen in 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two after it is destroyed by demons.
• Seen in 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon, the Roadhouse is Ash's version of Heaven.
• A painted backdrop of Harvelle's can be seen backstage at Supernatural: The Musical! in 10.05 Fan Fiction.
• Last mentioned in 12.06 Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox.
• Last seen in Heaven in 15.20 Carry On where Dean and Bobby drink beers outside.

Why the Roadhouse had to go

In the Season 2 Companion Eric Kripke talks about how the Roadhouse and its inhabitants were included in the story line to give the boys a place to go to, to gather information, a kind of way-station, a wish from TPTB. Over the course of the season though, the Supernatural team figured that it didn't work out:

What we realized is that this series is so much about the road trip. Giving them a place to go, runs counter to that and really changes the tone in a way you don't want. – Eric Kripke, Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2, p. 16

External links

• Behind the scenes Set design details

Roadhouse Fanworks

• spn_roadhouse on LJ Community
• The Roadhouse community on LJ has a weekly fic-roundup. To view all roundups, click here.