Red’s Giant Hamburg, a re-creation of the original that once stood along Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, sold a few days ago at auction for $575,000.
The identity of the restaurant’s new owner remains unknown, though KLOR-TV in Springfield reported it is a local investor.
No one knows what he or she intends to do to the property on the city’s south side.
The Springfield Daily Citizen reported:
The highest bid was submitted over the phone and the identity of the person behind the bid will not be revealed until the bank accepts the bid, Auctioneer Devon Stutenkemper said. There were about 30 people physically present for the auction, with more bidders involved online or over the phone.
The restaurant was sold as-is, including a majority of kitchen equipment, furnishings and decorations. The naming rights to the business, Red’s Giant Hamburg, were not included in the sale. If the buyer intends to reopen Red’s under the same name, the individual will have to work out leasing rights to the business name with Red’s owners.
Immediately following the auction, the highest bidder’s intentions for the property, located at 2301 W. Sunshine St., were not clear. Diamond S. Auction & Real Estate Co. Inc. worked in cooperation with Bob Kollmeier Auctions, LLC, for the Red’s auction.
A 1955 Buick Special outside the restaurant and a replica of the Red’s Giant Hamburg sign were auctioned separately for $15,700 and $850, respectively — both to Missouri residents.
The eatery’s former owners, David Campbell and Greg Iott, were present at the sale but declined to comment. The restaurant closed one day before the auction.
The auctioneer last month said “some financial distress” was cited for the auction, adding the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after its opening became a factor.
The new version of Red’s Giant Hamburg sits at 2301 E. Sunshine St. in Springfield, about three miles south of the nearest Route 66 alignment in the city.
Red and Julia Chaney opened the original Red’s Giant Hamburg along U.S. 66 in Springfield in 1947 at a former gas station.
The cafe was supposed to be called Red’s Giant Hamburger, but Red erred on the sign’s dimensions, and it could accommodate only “Hamburg.”
Red’s is best known as the site of the first drive-through window, although this has never been confirmed.
The restaurant closed in 1984 after the Chaneys retired. Red died in 1997; Julia died in 2006. The original building was torn down not long after Red’s death.
The now-former owners of Red’s purchased the rights from the Chaneys to use the recipes and restaurant name.
(Image of Red’s Giant Hamburg in Springfield, Missouri, via the Diamond Auctions listing)