Having spent the better part of his life in his family's Howard Johnson's business, Gary Giessow decided to begin the process of retirement by selling Kirkwood's Restaurant and former Motor Lodge in 2001. The complex was purchased by Michael and Kim Van Stavern, who owned several Super 8 Motel locations.

With maximizing profits their only motivation, they allowed the HoJo's to quickly slide downhill. Making matters worse, they eliminated the Restaurant's dinner hours strangling its profitability. In a last ditch effort, JoAnn McConachie attempted to negotiate a lease arrangement with the Van Staverns in order to keep the Howard Johnson's she had so carefully nurtured open. However her efforts fell on increasingly deaf ears as Michael Van Stavern had his sights set on a considerably more lucrative lease deal with a Chili's operator. Kirkwood's Howard Johnson's locked its doors for the last time at 11 a.m. on October 21, 2002.

Below: Uncovered during the Restaurant's "liquidation" process, Simple Simon and the Pieman were still inset in the Terrazzo!

Lower: Squeezing every last dime out of the venerable Howard Johnson's, Van Stavern sold off everything whether it was nailed down or not--save for the Simple Simon and the Pieman fiberglass figural which he held onto with hope of a $5,000+ offer.