A Kansas City entrepreneur has bought the house from the 1985 cult classic film The Goonies. The home is in Astoria, Oregon and is one of the main tourism draws in the blue-collar port town along the Columbia River.
The buyer is Behman Zakeri, who owns Collectors Cache, We Buy Gold, and Bury the Hatchet. Zakeri is also a Goonies superfan. His Goonies appreciation began when he saw the movie in the theater with his mom when he was eight years old. As a kid, the prospect of finding a buried treasure excited him and a big reason for buying the home stems from his childhood love for the film. He says he bought the home “for the community,” and “Goonies everywhere.”
The two-thousand-square-foot home went up for sale in November with a listing price of $1.65 million—a price that accounts for its historical significance, as Astoria is not a scenic beach town. Zakeri and his wife, Liz, officially took possession of the home on January 11.
Zakeri first saw the house several years ago when he visited Oregon to see his childhood best friend and fellow Goonies appreciator, Michael Eakin. Incidentally, Eakin recently was able to purchase the property next door.
When Zakeri returned for the movie’s 30th Anniversary years later “the magic happened.” Sandi Preston, the previous owner of the house, gave Zakeri and his group the unique experience of a personal tour. Charmed by their enthusiasm she even offered to let them have a slumber party in the house! Zakeri told her to reach out if she was ever interested in selling it.
Fast forward to November 2022, Zakeri learned the house was up for sale through social media. He reached back out to Preston to tell her, “I’m gonna take a run at it.” Having a special place in his heart for the Goonies, he said, “If you pass the torch to me, I plan to try to be the best caretaker I can be.”
With the help of the Goonies community, Zakeri plans to restore the Goonies House to “try to make it look as close to the movie as we can, both inside and out.” This restoration project even includes the recreation of the Rube Goldberg contraption that opens the front gate!
He sees the project as a “fun challenge” and that “finding every little piece is going to be a little treasure hunt” of its own. With the house, Zakeri took possession of some Goonies memorabilia to get him started on his endeavors.
Zakeri’s goal is to create a place for “Goonies to feel welcome.” He is tossing around the idea of a potential Goonies Escape Room or allowing people to rent the house. Until then, he encourages fans and says, “Go on out there and get your selfies and do the truffle shuffle.” Zakeri says he is, “excited for all of Kansas City, for all the friends and family members, even strangers, that are Goonies Fans.”