By By Laura Courson, Staff Writer
A part of Atmore history was torn down on Wednesday and is scheduled to be rebuilt soon.
The Country Lounge, located at 5440 Hwy. 31, was torn down after it was damaged in a fire on June 11.
The fire, which was started by a malfunction in an ice machine, did moderate damage to the building. It was the smoke and water damage that sealed fate of the 40-year-old building.
Andrew Stabler, the Country Lounge's owner, found that rebuilding "just made more sense."
Despite the need to rebuild, Stabler is grateful to the Atmore Fire Department for all their hard work.
While the fire was brought under control quickly, the damage was done. The path it took baffled Stabler.
The Country Lounge will be reopen.
Construction is set to begin on July 1.
The outside of the lounge will remain similar to the original design, but there will be some changes to the inside.
When the fire occurred, Stabler had owned the Country Lounge for less than a year.
The lounge was previously owned by Cliff Blackburn.
Blackburn built the lounge in 1962. Then it was Cliff's Truckstop.
The stop of gas sells didn't hurt Blackburn's business as barbecue became his top seller.
The barbecue eventually gave way to the lounge.
After owning the business for so long, Blackburn was very sorry to see the original building go.