House of Grace closed on Sept. 24, 2026. WPSD described the closing as coming "after 60 years of service." Owner Tim Grace is retiring after 44 years serving the Paducah area. He chose RARE Auction Group to sell the restaurant, and the sale was split in two. The real estate went to an absolute auction, live and on site, on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 10:07 a.m. The equipment, the House of Grace sign, the House of Grace name and "61 years of House of Grace recipes" sell separately in an online-only auction.
That online auction opened when the real estate auction did. Its lots aren't scheduled to begin closing until Monday, Oct. 5, at 10:07 a.m. So the building's bidding ended days before anyone will know who owns the name, the recipes or the kitchen hood. A buyer who wanted to reopen House of Grace had to bid on the building first and then compete for everything else.
As of Oct. 3, RARE's results page still showed the event in its upcoming format, with no sale price or buyer posted. We found no published report of the outcome or of plans for the site. The open outcome doesn't change the point of this post. The way the sale was structured already shows how a long-running local business is valued once the owner steps away.
Two Auctions, Two Sets of Rules
The two sales had different terms, deadlines and payment rules.
| Real estate | Name, recipes, sign, equipment | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Absolute auction, live and on site | Online only |
| Bidding | Thursday, Oct. 1, 10:07 a.m. | Opened Oct. 1, lots scheduled to begin closing Monday, Oct. 5, 10:07 a.m. |
| Buyer's premium | 10% added to the final bid | 15% added to all final bids |
| Payment | 15% deposit on auction day, balance within 45 days | Visa or Mastercard only |
| Pickup | Not applicable | Wednesday, Oct. 7, 8:07 a.m. to 5:07 p.m. |
The buyer's premium affects the real cost. RARE says the 10% premium "will be added to the final bid and included in the total contract price." On a $100,000 winning bid, for example, the buyer signs for $110,000. The deposit is due the same day, and there are 45 days to pay the rest. That timeline is tight for a buyer who still needs a commercial loan, an appraisal and lender approval. Most of that work has to be done before the bidding, not after.
In an absolute auction the property sells to the highest bidder, with no minimum price that has to be met. That gives the seller certainty about the date. For buyers, it means all the homework on the property, its use and its financing has to happen before the bid, because the sale goes forward either way.
What the Building Is Without the Restaurant
RARE's listing describes a brick, steel and wood-frame commercial building of about 2,100 square feet. It sits on a double lot of about 150 by 165 feet at 2606–2620 Jackson Street, zoned B-1. The lot is fenced with chain link and has two blacktop entrances and parking for about 60 cars.
Inside, the listing describes:
- Seating for about 75 in a dining room roughly 33 by 29 feet, with coffered ceilings and angled windows
- A cashier counter and waitress station about 19.5 by 10 feet, with a pass-through to a kitchen of about 19.5 by 9 feet that has prep and hood areas
- Middle and back rooms, including a back room with an extra-wide panic-bar exit door
- Two Ruud natural gas central HVAC systems, a new or recent 50-gallon gas water heater, and two 200-amp breaker systems
The auctioneer pitched the property as "multi-usable" and "an ideal property and building for beauty shops, offices, or retail." That pitch matters for valuation. The real estate was marketed to bidders who may never cook a meal there, and that is the main reason it could sell on a fixed date. A building that works for several kinds of tenants can be priced on parking, frontage, lot size and condition. None of those depend on whether a restaurant is running inside.
The building has changed uses before. RARE says the site was a Pizza Hut for nearly 20 years, "full-up and standing room only after every high school and middle school ball game," and then housed House of Grace for about 25 years. One restaurant brand took over from another in the same building. The property supported both businesses and didn't belong to either.
The Restaurant Is in the Other Auction
Most of what made the building a working restaurant is in the online sale. That sale lists an 11-foot-4 by 6-foot hood with a rooftop fan, a Range Guard CO2 fire suppression system with a new or recently installed controller, and a South Bend natural gas 10-burner range with double oven. It also lists an Imperial convection oven, a recently rebuilt Hobart-style M20 mixer, a 400-pound Ice-O-Matic ice machine, a CMA dishwasher, an Eagle triple-compartment sink, coolers, freezers, a salad bar and a hot bar. The dining room's six booths, 15 tables and 57 chairs are in the same sale.
The hood and fire suppression system are where the value can split. For a future restaurant owner, an installed hood with working suppression is one of the most expensive parts of turning a room into a commercial kitchen. Here that equipment is sold separately from the building. If someone other than the building's buyer wins it, it's scheduled to come out during pickup on Oct. 7. The building's buyer would then own a former restaurant without what made it ready to operate as one. An appraiser would value that property differently from the one that went on the auction block on Oct. 1.
The name and recipes are worth the least on their own and the most if they stay with the building. The auctioneer's pitch says so directly:
"Or buy it all and continue the outstanding House of Grace restaurant tradition with Tim Grace at your side."
That offer of Tim Grace's help may be the most valuable thing in either sale, and it isn't a line item in either catalog.
What 61 Years of Recipes Means
A former customer wrote in 2022 that Curtis Grace and his wife, Norma, "were catering and restaurant legends." She also wrote that their son and his family own and operate House of Grace on Jackson Street, serving "Curtis' favorites" at weekday lunch. She singled out the California Chicken Salad, "one of the other Curtis created items on the menu," and the family's fruit tea, which she called "a community and family favorite."
Before Jackson Street, there was the Ninth Street House, a restaurant in a Victorian house where Curtis Grace was owner and chef. It closed in 1996. The family's recipes have already outlasted one building. WPSD's 60 years, the auctioneer's 61 years of recipes and Tim Grace's 44 years serving Paducah all measure different things. The common thread is that the business has always been separable from its address.
That is why the auction separated the two. The building has a clear market value. The name and recipes are goodwill, and goodwill keeps its value only if someone keeps using it. A recipe file bought online, with no kitchen, no staff and no Tim Grace, is worth much less than the same file in a reopened dining room on Jackson Street with Tim Grace there to help.
What This Means for Other Owners
Many family-owned businesses in Western Kentucky own the building they operate in. When the owner retires, that business has the same three parts House of Grace had: the real estate, the fixtures and equipment, and the name. Each part goes to a different kind of buyer, and selling them separately or together produces different results.
Selling the parts separately on fixed dates, as this sale did, makes the real estate easier to sell and gives the seller a firm timeline. Selling everything together keeps more of the business's value intact, but it depends on finding one buyer who wants all of it. Neither approach is wrong. The decision should come after an owner knows what the building is worth on its own and how much of the total value depends on the business staying open. Our property valuation work starts there, and our commercial practice handles the sale once that split is clear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did anyone buy House of Grace? As of Oct. 3, 2026, RARE's results page had not posted a sale price or buyer, and we found no published report of plans for the Jackson Street property. The online auction for the name, recipes, sign and equipment was scheduled to begin closing Oct. 5.
Could the restaurant reopen? The auctioneer openly invited a buyer to purchase everything and continue the restaurant with Tim Grace's help. No reopening had been announced.
What uses did the listing suggest for the building? RARE's listing named beauty shops, offices and retail. The site is a B-1-zoned double lot. Anyone planning a specific use should confirm it with the City of Paducah before relying on it.
Why does the 10% buyer's premium matter? It is added to the winning bid and included in the total contract price. Financing and the 45-day closing are based on that higher total, not the hammer price.
If you own the building your business runs in and want to know what it's worth with and without the business inside, talk with Sirk & Company Real Estate before you choose how to sell. We've appraised and brokered commercial property in Western Kentucky since 1979, and you can contact us to start with a valuation.
