Roadhouse (premises)

For other uses, see Roadhouse.
A roadhouse on China National Highway 209 in Gaoqiao Township, Xingshan County, Hubei. It appears to be used as a rest stop for long-distance buses

A roadhouse (Australia and the United States) or stopping house (Canada) is a small mixed-use premises typically built on or near a major road in a sparsely populated area or an isolated desert region that serves passing travellers, providing food, drinks, accommodation, fuel, and parking spaces to the guests and their vehicles. The premises generally consist of just a single dwelling, permanently occupied by a nuclear family, usually between two and five family members.

In Australia, a roadhouse is often considered to be the smallest type of human settlement.[1][2]

In Britain, the term was often a synonym for an advanced motel, but roadside pub-restaurant or hotel, depending on use, is more common today. A hotel resembling and having a public house (pub) is widely, nationally, called an inn.

The word's meaning varies slightly by country. The historical equivalent was often known as a coaching inn, providing food, drinks, and rest to people and horses.

  1. ^ I spent the night in Australia's smallest town. Here's what I saw
  2. ^ "Some Roadhouses of the Lonely Territory". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 357. New South Wales, Australia. 2 July 1938. p. 13. Retrieved 4 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.