Jane Bartusch said she was disappointed in the lack of interest in purchasing the restaurant as a turn-key operation, but said she and her husband would turn their attention to the sale of the contents. The Sept. 14 auction will be handled by Frank Lewis & Sons auctioneers, who also handled the auction of Dominic’s antiques and memorabilia in 2007.
The building has operated as a restaurant since 1900, and still has its original bar. It has had only four owners in its 113-year history.
Bob and Jane Bartusch have owned the restaurant for 35 years. They bought it in 1978, two years after Bob Bartusch became the restaurant’s manager. The couple first put the restaurant up for sale in early 2012. But no serious offers emerged, and on June 29, 2013, the couple closed the restaurant permanently.
Bob Bartusch acknowledged at the time that his business had dwindled because of “age, retirement and death,” and in the end, he said, “We weren’t able to attract the Applebee’s crowd.”
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