The former Long John Silver’s building along First Avenue had been vacant for nearly 10 years, slowly deteriorating with age, until Main Street Investors LLC, headed up by Kevin Van Wyk of Pella, decided to give the building a facelift and put it to use.
The Long John Silver’s property switched hands a few times following the restaurant’s 2003 closing until 2008. Main Street Investors LLC purchased the building in October.
“Essentially what I’m doing is gutting it and getting it to a place where it can house an operation,” said Van Wyk, a State Farm Insurance agent out of Pella.
Van Wyk took over the former Carol Jones State Farm office in the Newton 66 complex off Highway 14; the lease on this office only runs through August.
“We can either move the State Farm office, rent the property out or sell the property,” he said. “Either way, the property will eventually house office space.”