Old Western Sizzlin' building

[bunnyface]

Does anybody know what they are doing at the old Western Sizzlin' building? They have torn down the little addition on the side of the building. It didn't look like they are tearing down the whole building, but I don't know.

[sailorwes]

Five months or so ago they held an auction for the restaurant equipment there. At that time, I understood it was to be sold and turned into a non-food service use building. Have been surprised that nothing seems to have happened since then.

[Writer]

I think the whole thing is coming down. We used to love that place.

[bunnyface]

Yeah, now I can see that the whole thing is coming down. DH says they are doing it "differently" because it looks like they are pulling the metal out. So instead of just knocking the whole thing down and hauling it off, they are doing sections and scrapping metal as they go.

We used to go there a lot about 20 years ago. My dad and aunts and uncles would go every Friday night and whoever of us was around was welcome to go too. There would sometimes be 15 of us in a table at the back. As they say: Good times, good times.

[west-texan]

At the rate they're going...the ol' Western Sizzlin' building will be gone in the the next couple of days.

Also...they've removed the glass covered area out in front of the old Burger King on Georgia...that is next to the new BK...and have completely boarded up the front.

Can't tell if they are going to tear the building down...or just radically remodel the place.

That was Amarillo's original BK...and I remember eating there occasionally in the early 70's with my parents...when we'd come to Amarillo for shopping once or twice a month.

[bunnyface]

I think I read somewhere that Roasters is moving into that building. Can't remember for sure where I got that though.

[west-texan]

Interesting...Roasters moving out of their long-time Wolflin Village spot...

That would put them very close to the coffee cafe thing that Hastings runs on Georgia.

[mustakister]

Roasters is opening up an additional location in the old hogies deli / burger king, but the plan is to keep wolfin village open with more limited hours. the new location will have a drive through which should help them compete with the starbucks across the street.

[karenew]

from today's paper

The property's no longer sizzlin', but its owners hope it will be a business hot spot.
A new retail strip center will replace the Western Sizzlin' Steak & More Restaurant, now being razed at West Interstate 40 and Wolflin Avenue.

"We're really very open-minded on who (tenants) we have in there," said Cody Graham of Dick Graham Construction, owner and developer of the property. "That's all I can comment on right now."

The as-yet-unnamed center will be 16,000 square feet, with interior spaces sized to meet tenants' needs, Cody Graham said. He expects activity in the area to pick up due to the center's position between the Western Crossing shopping center under construction to the west at I-40 and Western Street and retail businesses to the east at I-40 and Georgia Street.

Howell Sand Co. should complete demolition of the former restaurant structure soon, he said, estimating that construction could begin in 30 to 45 days. He declined to divulge the cost of the project.

The Grahams purchased the 1.2-acre property in late 2007 from Amarillo CACO, a local limited partnership. The Amarillo Western Sizzlin' closed last June and the building's contents were sold in an August auction.

The Potter-Randall Appraisal District lists the appraisal value of the property, including the 8,700-square-foot vacant restaurant, at $590,486.