Give Louie Keen credit for one thing — he seldom does anything half-hearted.
The owner of the Uranus Missouri complex — best known for the memorably named Uranus Fudge Factory — near St. Robert, Missouri, threw the switch Friday on a huge, new sign that features 2,000 feet of neon tubing and hundreds of chasing bulbs.
Here’s Keen’s short video of the sign in operation:
The sign will be finished by Oct. 18, when Keen plans a dedication ceremony. He said on Facebook it needs a few broken tubes of neon replaced, plus the bottom panels of the non-neon sign installed.
Regardless, it’s already one of the most spectacular neon signs on Route 66.
Keen said Springfield Sign in Springfield, Missouri, built the sign. When asked how much it cost, he said: “A lot.”
At Uranus Missouri, Keen has opened an outdoors outfitters store, a shooting and archery range, a food-truck park, a tattoo parlor, an escape room, a bar-and-grill operation, an ax-throwing venue and the now-infamous Uranus Fudge Factory. Planned are a microbrewery and a wedding chapel.
Last month, he announced he was starting a newspaper after the Daily Guide in nearby Waynesville closed.
Keen’s antics are a throwback to goofy and gimmicky roadside attractions that drew tourists. He’s been so successful with his ventures, he closed his most disreputable operation — a burlesque saloon — about a year ago.
(Images of Uranus Missouri’s new neon sign via Facebook)
I’m glad he used neon and not that LED crap. I’m still crushed that they replaced the perfectly good neon on the Shamrock gas station with LED tubes.
Whatever. I can’t tell the difference between the original neon and the LED at the U-Drop Inn.
LED tubes are identifiable from a distance due to the sometimes unpleasant coherence of their light and the tendency of the poly tubes to droop over time.