I rode the bike to 1439 Queen Ave. on Saturday after hearing that the demolition had taken place.
The long-vacant former restaurant building at 1439 Queen Ave. is gone, and the question now is what will take its place.
Back in October I reported that the new owner of the corner property at Queen and Park Terrace had taken out an Albany city permit for the “complete demolition” of the former restaurant and small house on the same lot. You can read that story and comments here.
The restaurant, Ralph’s, had been closed for many years.
The demolition took place Friday, a neighbor told me. On Saturday, M&M Landscape Services was busy piling up the rubble before, presumably, hauling it off.
M&M is the landscape company of Moises Moreno. He and Elaine Moreno, of North Albany, bought the property last April for $285,000. The Morenos also own dozens of other properties in Linn and Benton counties.
The 10,381-square-foot lot is zoned R-6.5. The Albany development code says this zoning district “is intended primarily for low-density urban residential development that includes single dwelling units, townhouses, and middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and cottage clusters).”
What type of housing the owners plan to put there will be known when they file a site plan or take out a building permit.
On Saturday, the old freestanding restaurant sign was still up, reminding passersby of the business that was there back in the day. (hh)
You should state that this is SW Queen Ave.
BACK IN THE DAY…ALOT OF PEOPLE ATE LUNCH THERE…TIME MOVES ON…OH MY..
I drove by there yesterday prior to reading this. Not surprised but a little sad. We did go to Ralph’s a few times when it was still open. We’ve seen many businesses close in Albany in the 40+ years we’ve lived here. That’s just life, people retire and things change. We appreciate you keeping us informed about what is going on in Albany.
That’s where we went as kids in the 60’s to buy penny candy when it was a candy store. Mom didn’t like us crossing the busy Queen Street on our bicycles across from the Bureau of Mines.
Hey, Randy, we sure did! Good memories
Ralph’s was such a nice homey, friendly place for a good meal. Farewell.
Does anyone know if they also razed the cute little house in the back?
Yes, it was ruthlessly destroyed as well. :(
It’s sad to see it go. I worked there and my late husband worked there. In fact, his dad was the owner. The last owner when it was up and running, back in the day. Those days were fun.
This was a great place to go. My brother worked there when Ralph ran it.
Sad to see it didn’t get up and running again.
Mom and pop restaurants are the best places to eat. Wish some good home cooks would have taken it over. Nothing better than people who enjoy cooking amazing comfort food and charging reasonable prices. Shirley May’s was the last holdout. My kiddos still talk about her giant pancakes.
I loved that little restaurant. Great food, old-timey atmosphere. Farewell, Ralph’s.
Does anyone know the addresses of any of M&M’s other properties? I’m a neighbor and I’d like to know what we’re in for. I’m not a NIMBY, but I prefer something visially appealing than otherwise. Thanks.