DES MOINES, Iowa — Dan Reis has been in the sign service industry for more than 30 years, but decided to break out and create his own company.
"I enjoy restoring old things, keeping things old working and preserving a little bit of history," he said.
But then, the pandemic happened.
By doing odd-man jobs, he was able to stay afloat and now has exciting work heading his way: restoring the Snookies Malt Shop sign for the second time.
He had just finished fixing the sign when two weeks later, it was hit by a minivan.
"It came out here rather deformed," Reis said. "And I used what talents I have to try and straighten everything back out and keep everything original and straight and everything that was there back to its original shape without having to replace anything and make it new."
It took a week of hammering, bending and forming, but Reis was able to get the original sign back in shape. Now, there are just a few pieces of neon—designed by Neon Specialities—that need to go back on.
And Reis is pretty proud of the result.
"I do ... it turned out really well."
The sign went back up Friday at 5 p.m.
► Download the We Are Iowa app
► Sign up for Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter
► Subscribe to Local 5 News on YouTube
WATCH: Meet the man who restored the iconic Snookies Malt Shop sign