Demolition ahead for flood-damaged A&W

Jun. 26, 2013 11:58 am

The City Council last night agreed with its Flood Recovery Committee and voted unanimously to demolish the flood-damaged A & W Family Restaurant on Ellis Boulevard NW two years after the city first moved to do so.

The council had been working with developer Baron Stark on a plan to renovate the former drive-in restaurant, but after many months, Stark was not able to secure financing for the project. A second request for renovation proposals from the city elicited only one, a new one from Stark. The council, though, last night rejected it for lack of financing.

"We looked at every avenue," said council member Don Karr, who heads up the Flood Recovery Committee.

The former A&W restaurant along Ellis Blvd. NW Monday, April 22, 2013 in Cedar Rapids. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)