Phoenix Big Apple restaurant to close in 2 years

Bill Johnson's Big Apple Restaurant at Van Buren Street and Gateway Drive, a Phoenix staple since 1956, will be paved over into a parking lot in two years, according to an agreement reached with the Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board.

The board plans to purchase the storied eatery for $945,000, lease it back to the tenant for up to two years, and then turn the space into a parking lot, according to an agenda item Tuesday for a board meeting.

"GateWay Community College needs parking space and this property will be used for that purpose in the future," according to the agenda.

Because the board plans to purchase the place for $75,000 less than the appraised price of $1.2 million, the board plans to charge the tenant $1 for the first year. The second year, the price would go up to $12 per-restaurant-square-foot a month, according to the agenda.

The Phoenix location is the last remaining Bill Johnson's Big Apple Restaurant. The locations in Goodyear, Mesa and north Phoenix already closed.

During the past several years, the nearly 60-year-old chain had financial troubles and filed a Chapter 11 reorganization plan in November 2012 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Previously: Bill Johnson's Big Apple in north Phoenix closes

Related: Bill Johnson's Big Apple closes Mesa location

Founder Bill Johnson has passed away, but the restaurants carry his name. According to the restaurant website, Johnson and his wife, Gene, arrived in Phoenix in the mid-'50s with a "hope and a dream, plus Gene's BBQ recipes for success."

At the time, the location near 37th Street and Van Buren streets was on the outskirts of Phoenix. As Johnson put it then, "where the pavement ends and the West begins."

An entrepreneur, pilot, actor, stuntman, hypnotist, inventor and cowboy, according to the website, Johnson had his driver loudly announce as he opened the door to Johnson's longhorn-hooded Caddy, "This is Bill Johnson!," even if no one was around to hear.

Restaurant management had not returned calls for comment as of press time.

Reporter Jennifer McClellan contributed to this report.