15-05-2025
Red's Giant Hamburg sells for over half a million
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The reimagined Red's Giant Hamburg restaurant property on East Sunshine sold at auction today for just over half a million dollars.
The restored vintage Buick in front of the business sold for $15,700, and the sign out front sold for $850 to a man in Nixa. The gavel came down at $575,000 for the building and contents, but the name is under copyright. The new owner will have to buy the rights if they wish to continue using the name.
The business, opened in 2019 at 2301 E. Sunshine, was an homage to the original Red's on old Route 66 in north Springfield. That eatery was regarded as the nation's first drive-through restaurant.
Restaurateur David Campbell acquired the name, fixtures and memorabilia of the original from Julia Chaney, the co-owner and widow of namesake Red Chaney.
'We want this to be a museum,' Campbell said when the new southside location opened with a design reminiscent of the original and walls covered in photos of the Chaneys at work during at the location that had been open from the 1940s through 1984.
The abbreviated 'hamburg' in the name of both incarnations of the diner goes back to Red Chaney having ordered a sign that was too tall to fit under nearby utility lines.
Adapting to the situation, Chaney cut off the '-er' portion of the sign, and the restaurant became an icon on the route for more than its name.
The new owner is a local investor. Plans for the property are unclear, according to the auctioneer Devon Stutenkemper.
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