The Plainsman Restaurant

Opened in the early 50's by Stanley Coates as a truckstop then upgraded to a buffet in the late 50's. Coates sold the business in 1975 and moved away to retire. In recent years, increased competition, the 2003 power failure and SARS scare, the business suffered a steady decline of customers.

Land registry records show the federal government slapped liens on the property in 2004 and again in 2006 for unpaid levies under the Excise Tax Act, and in 2005 the city put a lien on the property to collect more than $110,000 in taxes.

Registry documents also show the property was transferred in November 2006 from The Plainsman Dining Rooms Limited to the numbered company controlled by Joan Havens. That transfer, for more than $964,000, was partly financed with a mortgage given to a Florida investment company.

At the same time as that deal, the city and federal liens were discharged, along with other mortgages.

The restaurant enjoyed a moment of television fame in 2004 when it was a location for the NBC-TV series The West Wing. The Plainsman was an Iowa retirement home for two episodes.

This location has been empty since 2006 and appears to have no vandalizism. No POE could be found. I will return and check again for interior shots. If this shouldn't be FM let me know ill change it.