The Parkview Inn restaurant, which is being rebuilt after a devastating fire in 2016, should reopen at its old site in Bloomington, Illinois, later this month.
According to the Bloomington Pantagraph, the fire caused $300,000 worth of damage. But owner Rick McCormick decided to tear down what little was left and start over.
The new $1.1 million Parkview Inn should open in this month.
“I really miss these neighborhood people,” said McCormick. “We had such a great place here, something really friendly that was good for the adults and the neighborhood kids and we want to keep that kind of feeling.
“We really love it here.”
The Pantagraph story was part of an overall feature about restaurants opening or being revamped in Bloomington and sister city Normal.
McCormick had hoped to reopen his restaurant. But a harsh winter and other complications delayed that a few months.
McCormick said in an earlier story the new Parkview Inn’s interior decor would feature Route 66, which runs by his restaurant. The new Parkview Inn’s east wall is all glass so customers can enjoy a view of the Mother Road and Miller Park.
McCormick also said the menu won’t change. It will serve old favorites such as catfish, fried chicken, pizza and hamburgers.
The fire in October 2016 began in an exhaust hood.
The Parkview, originally built in 1928, sits on a 1930-1940 alignment of Route 66 at 1003 Morris Ave. (map here). At the time of the fire in late 2016, it reportedly was Bloomington’s oldest restaurant that remained in the same site.
(Image of the new Parkview Inn sign and restaurant in the background by Tom Cherry via Facebook)
Nice! Another good place to stop along the Route.