Hundreds of shoppers form a long, twisting line at the Lodge Hotel in Bettendorf on Thursday.
"It's sad for me," said Sue Kuehl.
Kuehl is more than a face in the crowd. She spent three years as a server at the former Jumer's Castle Lodge.
On the first day of the liquidation sale, she paused outside to take some photos.
"I never dreamed I'd see the day this would happen," she said.
Inside the lobby, she's taken aback by the sale.
It's a surreal scene.
The sale will continue for about 30 days at The Lodge. Most days, it's open from 10 until 6.
There's a $4 admission charge to enter.
"It makes me want to cry just a little bit," she said.
At the same time, bargain hunters and nostalgia buffs roam the shuttered hotel.
Many share a special bond with the hotel.
"It's a stately place," recalled Debra Rexroth, Moline.
"I remember waiting all the time, waiting for hours," added Sandie Sprague. "But it was always worth it."
Kuehl continued her tour with a stop in the dining room.
"And then, in here, was my, so to speak, home," she said.
She recalled nights of sing-a-longs and serving celebrities like Red Skelton and Maria Von Trapp.
Those memories renewed just seeing a menu on display.
"To see people come out of my kitchen, it just doesn't seem possible," she said.
There's reality, though, as customers snap up items, one by one.
"I found a nice big tray for cookies," said Lisa Muhlenburg, Orion.
As those kitchen gadgets, artwork and furniture leave the hotel, it marks a passage for Sue Kuehl.
"I just can't believe it because it was such an icon in its heyday," she concluded. "Now, it's going to be gone."
For her, saying goodbye to this old friend is toughest of all.