Photo courtesy of Shannon Geihl An excavator tears down the former Pizza Ranch restaurant in Cottonwood on Monday. The restaurant has been closed for many years.

COTTONWOOD — It had been closed down for many years, but the former restaurant near the shores of Cottonwood Lake carried some memories for Cottonwood area residents.

On Monday, the vacant former Pizza Ranch restaurant in Cottonwood was demolished.

“They took it all down,” said Cottonwood resident Shannon Geihl, who watched the demolition and shared some photos and video on social media.

The former Pizza Ranch restaurant had a few different owners, and more than one name over the years. Tam French said her parents once owned the restaurant, and sold it in 1981. French said she remembered having to come in and wash dishes to help her family keep up with demand at Sunday buffets.

At one point in the restaurant’s history, there was also an outdoor stand, the Chuckwagon, that operated near the beach at Lake Cottonwood, Geihl said.

“The big draw was the peanut butter ice cream,” she said.

Geihl said that besides her, “There were a few people watching” as the restaurant came down on Monday.

It was during a work day, so people might not have had a chance to go watch, she said.