Demolition Crew Takes Down What A Tornado Could Not

It closed last summer and now demolition crews are tearing down the former Holiday Showcase Restaurant.  It has stood at the site of the former Aero Drive-In on Union Road since the mid 1970's and I think it would be difficult to find someone who has never eaten there.

For many in my generation it was pretty much standard procedure to enjoy a movie at the Holiday Showcase Theatres, then have a sandwich or a snack at the Holiday Showcase Restaurant.  Of all the meals I ever had at the Holiday Showcase there was one thing that always popped into my mind.  They had a killer strawberry shortcake that was hard to resist.

The restaurant was heavily damaged and several nearby homes destroyed by a tornado in 1987.  A number of customers and employees escaped injury when they fled into the basement of the restaurant as its roof was torn off.  It was more than a year before repairs could be completed.

After the Aero Drive-In was closed in 1971 the Holiday One and Two Theatres were built in its place.  It's where I saw so many '70's era classics like Star Wars, The Godfather, E-T, Jaws, The Excorcist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  It's a long list.

And a place to eat before or after a movie was a natural fit and that's why the Holiday Showcase Restaurant emerged.  Thanks for the memories and all that great strawberry shortcake.