Lease available for historic Palms Grill in Atlanta

[February 22, 2022]  

The lease for the Palms Grill Café on Historic Rt. 66 in Atlanta, Illinois is now open to interested parties wishing to manage this unique small town café.

Step back in time at The Palms Grill Café—one of the Mother Road’s premier Rt. 66 attractions. Opened in 1934, “the Grill” served up home-cooked meals, BINGO games, and weekly dances in its backroom. The Grill then closed in the late 1960s.

Now restored to its circa 1935 look, the Palms Grill Café reopened in April of 2009 and once again began serving its blue-plate specials to Rt. 66 travelers and visitors. Bus tours, senior groups, Red Hat Societies, and individuals young & old from across the country and globe, have all been welcomed to the Palms Grill Café over the past several years. The Grill has a loyal and enthusiastic following on such travel/tourism review sites as: Tripadvisor, Yelp, Yahoo! Travel, RoadsideAmerica.com, and Mamabzz. The Route 66 Dining & Lodging Guide describes the Palms Grill Café as “a very special must stop” place on the Mother Road.

The Palms Grill Café is a turnkey operation. It is fully equipped and will only require a new manager to supply an annual inventory of food and hire his/her staff to operate it. The Grill seats 47 in its main dining area, which includes a counter with 11 stools. Its backroom seats 60. The building is approximately 1800 sq ft.

The Atlanta Public Library owns the Downey Building in which the Palms Grill Café is located, and acts as the Landlord of the property. The lease for the Palms Grill Café runs from May 1st through April 30th, with an annual option to renew.

Leasing/Managing the Palms Grill Café is an excellent opportunity for the right person!

Anyone interested in applying for this opportunity should submit a Business Plan/Proposal no later than March 30th, 2022.

For more information, contact:
Steve Dreyer, President Atlanta Public Library District
P.O. Box 568 Atlanta, IL 61723
[e-mail]
[phone]

Business Plan/Proposal template

Please review each of the categories below, then use them as the template to create your business plan/proposal for leasing/managing the Palms Grill Café.


Executive Summary
State your overall reason for wanting to lease/manage the Palms Grill Café. Also describe the vision you have for what you want the Palms Grill Café to be.


Professional Training/Experience/Qualifications
List and describe the professional training and/or experience you have that you believe will make you an effective manager of the Palms Grill Café. Also note any professional licenses or certifications (such as food handler’s) you currently hold or will hold.

 

Concept of Operations
Describe how you plan to operate the Palms Grill Café. Address such items as: days/hours of operation, menu, ensuring cleanliness, meeting health department standards, and vendors you will use. Note: The Palms Grill Café is designed to recreate what it would have been like to stop and eat at a small town, Rt. 66 café in the period 1935-40. This ambience/experience is what draws tourists to the café. Describe the steps you will take to ensure this “historical experience concept” is maintained at the Grill.


Marketing Strategies
List and describe the kinds of things you will do to attract people to the Palms Grill Café via actively marketing and publicizing it.


Financial Factors
Describe how/why you are financially prepared to manage the Palms Grill Café.

[Christina Vannoy
Administrative Director
Atlanta Public Library District]