Chris Shelton/Community Impact Newspaper The owners of Wunsche Bros has decided to sell the iconic Old Town Spring restaurant.[/caption]

Two potential buyers are in talks to purchase Wunsche Bros. Cafe & Saloon following a fire that has kept the Old Town Spring restaurant closed since March.

The iconic eatery hit the real estate market in September. The owners hope to sell the eatery as is for $450,000, said Cameron Collins, a broker for The Villages Group-Creekside Park Realtors, which represents the property. There is no timetable on the completion of the sale or a Wunsche Bros. reopening, he said.

Potential purchasers are required to retain the same restaurant name, theme and exterior. Therefore, the sale includes the menus, Wunsche Bros. websites and recipes along with the property, Collins said.

“Several buyers say their bank won’t touch it— it’s a cash proposition,” Collins said. “Whoever buys it will have to share the vision and have the cash.”

The longstanding business caught on fire in late March, causing significant damages that still need repair. The new owner will need to tear down the portion of the building destroyed in the fire—an extension to the west end of the building made in the 1980s—and clean up significant smoke damages in the original structure.

The original building was structurally unharmed in the fire, Collins said.

“I’ve got two serious buyers who say ‘I don’t care, I just want to own a piece of history,’” Collins said.

Collins declined to comment on whether insurance covered the cost of any of the damages from the fire.

Wunsche Bros. originally opened in Old Town Spring in 1902 as a hotel and saloon. However, it has been known for decades for its southern comfort foods, such as hamburgers, chicken-fried steak, catfish and famous beer bread.