Reconstruction of Summit Inn may begin in January

The co-owner of the wildfire-destroyed Summit Inn near Hesperia, California, said the rebuilding of the landmark Route 66 restaurant likely would begin in January.

The Victorville Daily Press had some of the details about the coming reconstruction after reporting a fundraiser earlier this month netted $5,700 for the project.

Summit Inn co-owner Otto Recinos told the Daily Press the donations will be used to create a memorial room in the new restaurant that will house memorabilia recovered after the fire.

That memorabilia includes signs and pictures of celebrities who visited the Summit Inn, according to Recinos, who added that the 12,000-square-foot rebuild will consist of a restaurant, gift shop and a conference center for weddings and Route 66 gatherings.

“We don’t have a firm date,” Recinos said of a start date for construction, “but definitely within the next two weeks we’re going to wrap up permits with the city (of Hesperia).”

He said construction will tentatively start in January and cost between $3.2 and $3.5 million. The Recinos family, who purchased the Summit Inn earlier this year, is selling properties in Los Angeles to cover part of the costs.

One thing that hampered a more timely reconstruction of the building was $300,000 to clean lead and asbestos from the property after the ferocious Blue Cut wildfire in Cajon Pass destroyed the Summit inn in August.

The family took out a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration to help pay for the cleanup. The city of Hesperia also expedited issuing building permits.

The Recinos family in June bought the restaurant, motel, office and antique shop for about $1 million from longtime owner C.A. Stevens, just short of his 50th anniversary there.

The Summit Inn had operated since 1952, although its roots in Cajon Summit date to the late 1920s.

(Image of the Summit Inn sign by Lynn Friedman via Flickr)