CHARLOTTE, N.C. – If you've ever wanted to buy a piece of The Penguin Drive-In, you'll have your chance soon.
The landlord will be auctioning off almost everything that isn't bolted down at the Penguin to pay off debt owned by former manager Lisa Ballentine.
The restaurant declared bankruptcy twice, but both cases were dismissed, and the restaurant has been closed since August. Ballentine repeatedly said it would reopen, but it never did.
The move will most likely mean no incarnation of The Penguin will reopen at the corner of Commonwealth and Thomas Avenues in Plaza Midwood.
Landlord Don Rawlins says he's actively looking for a new tenant, but it's unlikely that what goes in next would bear the Penguin name.
"It'd be hard to put it all together," he said by phone Wednesday.
The restaurant was opened in 1954 by Jim Ballentine, Lisa's father. In 2000, the family rented the restaurant to new managers who made the diner into a destination. In 2010, Lisa Ballentine took control of the restaurant, and The Penguin struggled afterward.
Rawlins says the auction will run from January 5 through 9.
Among the items for sale: mops, tables, chairs, a jukebox, kitchen equipment and computers, as well as neon signs and the iconic metal "Barbecue" letters that hung on a wall inside. The trademark and spinning Penguin sign are also up for grabs.
