On Monday, a small sign on the front door of Ryan’s Buffet confirmed the restaurant has closed, more than two months after speculation over the restaurant’s future began.
In April, the property owner, Realty Income Corp. of Escondido, California, contracted with Rhett Realty to sell the 10,819 square-foot building located on a 1.9-acre parcel at 1201 Highway 45 North.
Shortly after the Realtor put up a for sale sign on the property, Ryan’s marketing director disputed that the restaurant planned to close, saying Ryan’s was negotiating a new lease for the property. The existing lease runs through June 30.
The company declined to comment on the closing of the store Monday but Royce Hudspeth, the listing agent for the property, said he had been working to find a buyer for the property since April, even as Ryan’s continued to push for a new lease.
The listing price for the property is $900,000.
Hudspeth said Monday the prospects of selling the property are good.
“We never stopped marketing the property,” Hudspeth said. “We have received two letters of intent from prospective buyers and are currently negotiating with one of those buyers. We will see if a deal can be done.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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