The Launching Pad Drive-In restaurant in Wilmington, Illinois — best-known for its 30-foot-tall Gemini Giant fiberglass statue next to Route 66 — failed to sell during an auction Saturday because the reserve wasn’t met.
The Will County News reported Tina and Joel Brownlee of Wilmington, who submitted the high bid of $177,500, will negotiate with auctioneer Jim Bednar and the owner to see whether a deal can be worked out.
The news outlet reported:
After the auction, Brownlee said she grew up in Wilmington “and enjoyed the Launching Pad.” Her family would like to see the restaurant “come back to life.”
Tina Brownlee has worked at Wilmington High School for more than 20 years, so she knows about the community’s fondness for the restaurant.
The Launching Pad has been for sale since 2010.
According to property-tax records, Brian Szczecin of Romeoville, Illinois, owns the property. Its assessed value is only $89,129.
Considering the Launching Pad’s assessed value, the chronic inability to move the property and its long closure, Szczecin ought to strongly consider taking the Brownlees’ offer.
The Launching Pad and Gemini Giant were inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000. It long has been one of the biggest photo opportunities for Route 66 travelers.
John and Betty Korelc opened a Dairy Delite at the site in 1960. It was renamed the Launching Pad after an expansion in 1965. The Gemini Giant statue landed there in 1965 after John Korelc saw a Muffler Man during a restaurant convention. Most Muffler Men were cowboys or lumberjacks. Korelc had his made so it looked liked an astronaut. John Korelc retired in 1986.
Morey Szczecin bought the property in 2007 after longtime owners Jerry and Sharon Gatties retired. But the restaurant struggled, closed in 2010 and was put up for sale with an asking price of $650,000, with no takers.
UPDATE: Free Press Newspapers published a good at-the-scene report about the auction and its aftermath, so far.
(Image of the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois, by Sam Johnson via Flickr)
I remember seeing 650k and thinking this seemed mighty high. While I love the Giant and would love to see a business there, it just doesn’t seem to be in area busy enough to recoup such a high asking price. Also believe some work would be needed to get the restaurant back in working order.
I wonder how much Mr. Szczecin paid for the property in 2007.
That’s disappointing. The chances for preservation Vs. decay seem a lot better if the property has an active owner.
Zillow.com’s estimate for this property was around $200K until it was listed on Dec. 10, 2010, for $629K (https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/2129083025_zpid/any_days/globalrelevanceex_sort/41.311637,-88.136243,41.309546,-88.141018_rect/17_zm/?view=public). The next year saw price reductions to $579K and $549K before the listing was removed on Dec. 5, 2011.
The Szczecin family’s Chicago restaurant, Janson’s Drive-In, was sold in 2012 (https://www.beverlyreview.net/news/top_story/article_f8ee5c70-9e31-11e3-8da7-0017a43b2370.html) and reopened in April 2014 (https://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=20426&start=270&sp=473893).
Who ever buys it needs to update the menu and serve food that is edible. I hope that can be done. The owners are dreaming it is not worth $650,000.
Is there any more news on the Launching Pad? Wow love to see it open.
Closed in 2010? I was there in 2012 and it was open!