We thought SPARKEY’S was a thing of the past… Guess we thought-wrong.

TUSCUMBIA – Enroute to a photo shoot at the Arc of The Shoals Thursday morning, The Quad-Cities Daily car drove by the site of Shoals legendary drive-in, Sparkey’s. The place, famous for its foot-longs and orange-pineapple ice cream, had been dealt a fatal blow a couple of months ago. Tuscumbia Police reported that a truck driven by a Tuscumbia man veered off Old Lee Highway and slammed into the corner of the building.

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Karen Smith surveys damage to Sparkey’s Restaurant.

The damage was so complete that there was no way to save the old building. At the time, Karen Smith who owned the place with her husband, Byron told our reported that this was probably the end of Sparkey’s.

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So when we saw a new stem-wall being constructed at the site, we had to stop and ask, “What gives?”

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Sparkey’s Co-Owner Byron Smith

Byron Smith was there. The man had a big smile on his face as he told our reporter, “We’re building a new place!”

The work is scheduled to be complete around May 1st. We will keep our readers posted.

You may read our previous stories HERE.