May 9, 2012

If you’ve kept up on all things old school Northeast, you know that there have been some closures recently that have greatly affected the historic landscape of our fair community.

The Log Cabin on St. John was forced to close after the insurance company for the mosque next door (destroyed by fire in 2011) offered up a pittance to the Cabin owner and called it a “settlement.”

The Cabin suffered substantial damage in the conflagration that totally destroyed the old Gladstone Theater.

Karen Grey, the Cabin’s owner, was forced to close the iconic and kitchy little bar and is now facing foreclosure proceedings due to the irrepairable damage suffered in the fire as well as the interruption in income due to the closure.

There’s a grassroots push to purchase the parcel and re-open it, but there’s been no word on proceedings to date.

Another closing, this one on Independence Boulevard, is a bit more high profile.

The old Wm. Chick Post Office recently sold on an Internet auction site for a little over $170,000.

Some civic minded Northeast business leaders formed a consortium to purchase the building but were outbid at the last minute.

Almost immediately after the auction closed, the oh so convenient mailboxes were removed from the property.

Lastly, right next door, the old Avenue Dairy Queen looks to be shuttered for good this time around.

Last year, the corporate DQ folks dropped the hammer on long-time owners John and Esther McMurray for some issues with the DQ product being served there. Look it up, it’s really not ice cream.

John and Esther removed all vestiges of DQ from their building and re-named their place “Northeast Sweets and Treats” with the placement of a hand-lettered cardboard sign in the front window.

The old place is usually locked up over the winter but re-opens on March 1 for the spring and summer season.

Sadly, however, there’s been no sign of John or Esther and her award-winning beehive hairdo this year.

That leads this newshound to believe the ice cream vending days from the last free standing DQ building in the metro are finite, el complete and done.

Say it ain’t so Esther, the Avenue won’t be the same without you and the best-known beehive in the city. Bunny is truly saddened.