The famous Tunnel Bar-B-Q restaurant has been sold to the University of Windsor and will eventually be demolished to make way for a new arts school, the Windsor Star reports.
Ted Shaw reports the announcement came Friday at a media conference at Mayor Eddie Francis’ office attended by the mayor, university president Alan Wildeman, TBQ owner Thom Racovitis, and daughter Helena Ventrella.
The nearly 73-year-old restaurant at 58 Park St. E., was the last visible part of a once impressive hospitality empire that was begun by the Racovitis family in 1941.
At its height, Tunnel Bar-B-Q and its various branch operations had 596 employees. Now, only 49 remain at the restaurant across from the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel.
The restaurant will remain open through the summer, said Racovitis, and close in September.
