'Big Gus' returning to Angelo's Steak Pit tomorrow
PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Beach will be getting back an iconic resident, and that's no bull.
"Big Gus," the gigantic 20,000 lbs fiberglass bull that guards the entrance to Angelo's Steak Pit will be back from repairs on Thursday, according to Chad Rice, owner of Chad's Paint and Body Shop in Ashford, Alabama.
Rice and has team has been working hard to restore the bull since he was toppled in Hurricane Michael last October. But, five months after the storm, Rice said Big Gus is looking better than ever.
"You can't tell it ever happened," he said.
Big Gus is mostly hollow, Rice said, save for his legs, which were filled with concrete to anchor him to his pedestal. When he fell over, three of his legs broke off, and two of the legs broke in several places.
Repairing the legs, Rice said, has been a challenge, as he essentially had to chisel out all the concrete before he could repair the fiberglass.
"It was just a time consuming process," Rice said.
After that, he fit Big Gus back together like a puzzle. Rice said Wednesday morning they will be working all day to give him a new paint job to make sure he's ready to return home Thursday.
Big Gus has been stationed in front of Angelo's Steak Pit since 1970, when owner George Butchikas said he needed something to catch drivers' attention after Front Beach Road was widened to four lanes. He gets his name from Butchikas' father, Angelo "Gus" Butchikas, who opened Angelo's Steak Pit in 1958.
At Rice's shop in Ashford, where Big Gus has been staying, the bull has been attracting a lot of attention. Because it's only about an hour-and-a-half from Panama City Beach, Rice said he's had a pretty constant stream of people coming up to check on Big Gus' progress.
"We have had so many people stopping by," Rice said.
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