Auburn may buy landmark restaurant site to build Fire Department headquarters

AUBURN ― The town is eyeing the Chuck’s Steak House and Margarita Grill property off Route 20 to build a new headquarters for the Fire Department.

Steve Londregan, co-owner of Chuck’s, said he and his business partner Tom Flynn are strongly considering a $4 million offer by the town for the three-acre property where they have done business for more than 45 years.

Addressed at 10 Prospect St., the property is sandwiched between Routes 12 and 20.

“I couldn't be happier,” Londregan said in an interview on Tuesday. “We're fortunate for the fact that we've had numerous offers and that were kind of able to pick who was going to come in here.”

Recognizable for its wood-shingled exterior, the 13,000-square-foot building has been home to Chuck’s Steak House and Margarita Grill since 1978.

In 2000, Londregan and Flynn purchased the whole three-acre property.

After almost five decades of “driving to this building three to four times a day,” Londregan said the decision to move came as a result of the property becoming too big for their business, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Londregan said the restaurant has only been using about half the building's capacity.

The duo plans to relocate somewhere in Auburn.

That is, if the sale with the town goes through.

A letter of intent between the town and the restaurant owners was signed Monday, according to the Fire Department.

Fire Chief Stephen Coleman said there will be a special town meeting in late January to discuss the sale, the first step in a process that could see the new headquarters completed sometime in 2026.

Coleman said the bay doors for the new headquarters would be nearer to the Prospect Street end of the property, at the opposite end of where the Chuck’s building is currently located, and where the town already owns some property.

The restaurant building would eventually be razed.

“It’s an extremely unique property," said Coleman. “It's the only parcel of land that gives you direct access to both highways.

“You can’t get any more center.”

The Fire Department's headquarters is currently on Auburn Street. That station would remain in service, with the West Street station to close.

Coleman said if the move to Prospect Street goes through, the current location would continue to be used as a fire station.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Auburn Fire Department move to Chuck's Steak House site considered