Restaurant plans to reopen
Owners are grateful to Marion residents
Staff reporter
For Barb Smith, owner of Country Lakes Café at 202 E. Main, Marion, March 6 was one of the worst days of her life.
She and husband Larry received a telephone call at 3 a.m. from Marion Police Department that an outside wall had collapsed at their restaurant.
"We were just recovering from having a slow period that began in December," Smith said, "and now this."
The Newton residents, who also own a house at Marion County Lake, had two options.
They could pack up their equipment and booths and get the heck out of Marion or they could repair the wall and continue their business.
Fortunately for Marion's downtown district, the couple chose the second option.
Two structural engineers inspected the building — one for the couple's insurance company and one for the city.
"The roof is fine," Smith said, and the remainder of the building appears to be in good shape.
Supports were put in place to brace the building from further dismantling.
By today (Wednesday) or Thursday, temporary floor jacks will be installed to brace the ceiling.
"It won't take too long for the brick masons to rebuild the west wall," Smith said.
So, what caused the disaster?
Basically, a harsh winter that included north winds and wet weather.
"Moisture got behind a layer of brick, froze, and thawed," Smith explained.
A thin facade that covered the brick, was installed in the 1980s. Smith wasn't sure how the building was going to be repaired but was fairly certain the facade will be removed.
"Right now we're working with the insurance company and waiting for the final report from the engineer," Smith said. When that occurs, the Smiths will be given the go-ahead to have repairs made.
Luckily, the interior of the restaurant remains intact. Murals that hang on the west wall have survived the ordeal, for the most part. One may need to be replaced but the others are OK. The only obvious signs of stress to the interior wall is a crack that wasn't there before.
In the meantime, the industrious business owners are making due with what they have.
Even though they cannot have patrons eat in the building because of safety concerns, they are providing carry-out and free delivery of items from their lunch menu which includes salad and sandwiches.
"We still have bills to pay whether we're open or not," Smith said. "Hopefully this will keep us going until we can open the restaurant on a regular basis again."
For now, orders can be placed from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and either be picked up or delivered.
When the floor jacks arrive, they will have to close that day because no one should be in the building at that time.
Smith is hoping it will be just a one-day process.
When the masons arrive, that process shouldn't be too long either, she said.
Through it all, the Smiths are grateful to this community that have made them welcome.
"There has been such an outpouring of community support," Smith said.
She was particularly moved by the kindness shown to her by competitor, Debbie Cook, owner of Stone City Café.
"She offered her building to us during their off hours," Smith said. "How kind is that?
"I don't know of any town other than Marion that would have this kind of outpouring."
The couple had minimal insurance to cover the structure of the building which should cover the repairs but did not have loss of income insurance.
"We're extremely grateful to this community for its support," Smith said, "and we can't wait to reopen."
