The Red Cedar Inn, a famous Route 66 restaurant in Pacific, Mo., that closed in 2005, apparently is on the sale block again.
The Smith family, owners of the property, announced an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, according to the Washington Missourian.
The newspaper reported:
“Since it has been remodeled it’s a completely different building inside,” Jim Smith said. “And Ginger and I have been in there scrubbing so it’s clean as a pin.”
The iconic building was constructed with logs cut on the Smith family farm. It has been featured on “Good Morning America” and was a favorite eatery of several athletes and public figures over the years.
Recently it was temporarily a used car lot. Jeff Schneider, who operated the used car lot, removed the restaurant kitchen and created a series of offices and meeting rooms. He also replaced the roof and resealed the parking lot.
The restaurant opened in 1934 at 1047 East Osage (aka Route 66), and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It closed 70 years later, with the owners citing rising insurance costs.
The City of Pacific in 2007 tried to buy the building with plans to convert it into a Route 66 museum. But negotiations fell through.
(Vintage postcard courtesy of 66Postcards.com)
Wow, I guess I lost track of this story. I thought it HAD become a museum. Sorry to hear that didn’t work out.