Launching Pad Drive-In is for sale

The Launching Pad Drive-In restaurant, famous for its 28-foot-tall fiberglass Gemini Giant (above), has been put up for sale.

The Launching Pad is at 810 E. Baltimore, along old Route 66, in Wilmington, Ill. The asking price is $589,000. The restaurant was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000.

I didn’t know the restaurant, which has been operating since about 1967, was on block until I stumbled upon this real-estate listing yesterday. It didn’t give the name or address, but the description of the property left little doubt which restaurant it was:

Reknown Fast Food Restaurant
Location: Illinois > Wilmington
Industry: Food and Beverage > Restaurant

This well known fast food restaurant is a hot tourist spot located on famous Route 66. The success of this business comes from both tourist and local clientele. Excellent revenue opportunity for motivated buyer. Drive-thru is always busy and there is potential for expansion by extending business hours. Owner has maintained profitable and stable business for last 40 years. Sales have been steady with no signs of a downturn. Price includes real estate. This is a goldmine!

According to the listing, the owner wants to retire.

Also, I found that the Launching Pad’s Web site was recently taken down. However, you can still read the old content of the site in the cache.

After a few e-mails and phone calls, I confirmed today that the listing was indeed for the Launching Pad and it’s been listed only in the past 24 hours or so. However, prospective buyers should not call the restaurant, but contact Naper Realty Commercial Investments at (630) 848-1784.

(Photo courtesy of Emily Priddy.)