NASCAR Café Abandoned For Ten Years Still Has All its Memorabilia

It’s hard to wrap one’s head around, but in Sevierville, Tennessee, there is an abandoned NASCAR Cafe that has been shuttered with everything seemingly left inside as if the restaurant was closed one day with the intention of opening the next, but no one ever came back.

You can see in the video below, the building itself seems to be holding up well considering it’s been locked up tight for over a decade. The facility still holds all of the NASCAR themed memorabilia and decor that made the chain a popular eatery, at least for a time. During their brief lives, NASCAR Cafes followed a common trajectory in the dining world, making a big splash when they came onto the scene, then immediately falling from favor after growing stagnant. Apparently all of the locations suffered the same fate, losing their appeal after the decor and menu both remained unchanged, leaving customers looking elsewhere for a better dining experience.

It’s crazy to think there is a restaurant owner that just left all of this stuff, which could have been sold off to recoup some of the cost. Perhaps the franchisees didn’t own the actual decor and the corporate office just abandoned the cause with no intent to offset the costs associated with opening several themed restaurants.

Regardless of why, it’s there and this guy takes us on a walk around tour of the restaurant, at least form the outside. We would love to know if there are any pans for all of the items inside. It seems like the building would have been vandalized by now, sitting dormant for some 11 years. However it appears to still be in great shape. Perhaps the Sevierville police keep an eye on the place to prevent it from being damaged by vandals. What would you do with all of the memorabilia if this was your restaurant?