McDONALD COUNTY — More than 70 years after it was fi rst opened, Truitt’s Cave is soon again to be opened to the public - as a bar and grill.

Owner Chris Black, with his son Patrick, fiancée Teresa Ezell, partner Douglas Edwards, and Matt Holland, chef, bartender and anything else needed, are hoping for a June opening.

Though much work has been done in the seven months since they began restoring the property - 12-to 14-hour days, seven days a week - much is left to be done before it will be ready for the public. Open trenches to fix flooding problems wind in front of the cave. Storage containers block the view of the front of the cave.

“Mr. Truitt (Founder J.A. Truitt), in his 11-year endeavor, had all these creeks dug out and lined with rock and over time these two giant sycamores grew through all these culverts with roots,” Edwards said. “So that’s the reason this place has been fl ooding the last eight years and nobody could get it to stop. So we have demolitioned all the existing drain linesand redug all the creeks and we are in the process of trying to line them. This will be just like Mr. Truitt had it originally. So we have the water pretty much figured out right now.”

Edwards said work has been completed on all new electrical service on the outside of the cave and to the large room at the entrance that will house The Cave Bar and Grill. Once the cave itself is opened, it will continue to be known as Truitt’s Cave.

“We are about halfway done with new electricity in the cave,” Edwards said. “Once we get it completed wewill open the cavern back up for tours. We just want to get it safe.”

Edwards said old railings and old light fixtures must also be replaced before the cave itself is opened. Chris Black said neglect and damage from blasting at a nearby quarry did a lot of damage.

“Blasting broke off a lot of the ‘pretty stu◊’ in the cave,” Black said. “It’s coming back, but it will take time.”

One of the next items on the list of things to be done will be the removal of the storage trailers.

“We are pulling the containers either this week, next week or the week after, at the latest,” Edwards said. “They will all be gone out of here - finally. I will be glad to have them out of the way. I know someof the locals will be too. They were worried to death we were going to cover up this cave.”

Edwards said the containers are not the only thing that has stirred up interest, and imaginations, of area residents.

“We have heard it all,” Edwards said. “The fact of the matter is, we moved out here to get away from the city. We are not prepping for doomsday. If we were, we are not going to make it. We have too much work left to do.”

Chris Black is a retired IT specialist with the Department of Defense. He grew up in North Carolina and lived in Indianapolis before moving to Lanagan. Edwards is a retired pipe fitter and master plumber. He is renovating the old house on the propertywhere he will live with his wife, three daughters and one son, with another son on the way.

“I have always been interested in caves and was looking for a retirement place,” Black said. “I wanted to build something for my son and grandkids out of the city.”

In addition to the bar and grill that will feature hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, salads and an assortment of appetizers. A garden has been started that will be used to grow fresh produce for the grill.

Edwards said a patio area underneath the overhanging blu◊will be an area for listening to live music.

“This will be a place for families to come,” Edwards said. “We will have a positive establishment where parentscan feel free to bring their families for special events or to have a quick bite after a long day.”

In addition to the patio, diners can enjoy their food from inside the cave entrance in a large room that will serve as a dining room.

“We will have large screen TVs and pool tables,” Edwards said. “We want a nice place so people will have a nice place to go in the evenings.”

The “guys from the cave” as they have come to be known, volunteered to mow and weed eat at Lanagan City Park once a week.

“It’s a great park and we want to show the city we appreciate them welcoming our endeavors,” said Edwards. “I can’t say enough about the police chief (Larry Marsh). He has been a good friend and helped us out a bunch.”

Edwards said it has been frustrating reading onlineabout all the rumors about what was being done at the property.

“Maybe this will fi nally put all the rumors to rest,” Edwards said. “ I hope we really inspirepeople, because we are doing a lot of work for the amount of people we have.”

News, Pages 1 on 04/12/2012