This tiny kingdom is looking for a new master to take it to pastures new.
After deciding the renovation would be too much work, a Wichita, Kansas, couple is giving their backyard a fort-shaped prefab diner. Bargain Price? No cost – but the new owner will have to come and move it, which means the real cost is labor.
“We don’t have the current capability to maintain or fix this crazy piece of history – but we are looking for someone who wants to make this the project of a lifetime!” The married couple, Aida and Robert Sutherland, posted in a Facebook Marketplace listing, Wichita Eagle reported, “It could be an amazing restaurant, backyard clubhouse/bar or just a crazy piece of history.”
Sutherland moved to the portable structure in March 2018 after purchasing an old farm at auction. After talking at length with surviving family members of its previous owner, they learned that the strange, 20- by 20-foot-wide, 15-foot-tall mansion at the rear of their property was once a local burger joint. When its fortunes changed, the home’s final owner successfully moved the twee metal building into his yard, where he used it as a bar while hosting guests.
Although not confirmed, The Eagle reported that the turreted eatery was likely built in the 1930s by the Abla Hotel Supply Company, its design inspired by White Castle – a Wichita-born brand.
The homeowners have been inundated with potential buyers since their most recent listing, which was picked up by the popular Instagram account cheap old houses, (The Sutherlands previously brought the diner to market in 2019, but their cheaper efforts were thwarted by the pandemic.)
“We have received inquiries from almost every state as well as the Bahamas – from restaurant and bar owners, conservationists, hobbyists, historians, artist co-ops, CEOs, HGTV stars and everything you can imagine. Beach,” Ada told The Post. “The enthusiasm of the people is wild.”
Ideally, they want the next owner to “carry on their legacy in a public space that brings joy to others, wherever they may be.”