Former Fairview Heights restaurant building vacant for 5 years is being demolished

Demolition of the former Smokey Bones restaurant at 6118 N. Illinois St. in Fairview Heights is underway.

The building has been vacant for more than five years.

In a phone interview last week, Dallas Alley, Land Use and Development director for the city, said that he saw an excavator at the site and thought the demolition could start any day now.

The property owner, who was responsible for handling the demolition, had not provided notice of the dates to the city, said Alley.

Work to remove the building started Tuesday and continued Wednesday morning.

In a separate interview earlier this month, Alley said that after last year’s deal to build a car wash on the property fell through, the city filed a lawsuit against the property owner to demolish the building.

County tax records list the owner as Spirit Master Funding VII, LLC.

The lawsuit was filed in November against the LLC, according to St. Clair County court records.

Utilities at the property had been retired, said Alley, and the owner was given a Friday, Aug. 16, deadline to demolish the building.

Had the owner not met that deadline, the city would have arranged the demolition.

A pending appearance for a video status conference in the lawsuit is set for Monday, Aug. 26, according to the case detail on the county’s website.

Alley also mentioned that more than one real estate broker expressed interest in the property.

The Fairview Heights Land Use and Economic Development Facebook page shared that the department has not received any applications for new business at the site.

The post also stated that the “staff is excited to have this eyesore removed from our community.”

The building sat vacant since Smokey Bones Fairview Heights closed in March 2019.