It's been one week since fire heavily damaged an entire block in downtown Cambridge Springs.   Clean-up continues, but business owners on that block are already saying they will rebuild.

 

Mr. Woody's Smokin' Bar-B-Que was to open on South Main Street around the first of July.  Next door, Hardwater’s Brewing was set to open at the exact same time.
   

The owners of each of the businesses had been planning the twin openings for the past two and a half years.  But a fire on May 12 ruined the July opening.  However, it did not destroy the plans to open either the barbecue restaurant or the brewery in the future.
    

Scott Muckinhaupt is the owner of Mr.Woody's Smokin' Bar-B-Que. He says he is still waiting for engineers to determine if his building can be restored, or if it must be torn down.  In any case, he and the owner of Hardwater's Brewery say they are devoted to Cambridge Springs. They will continue with their plans to open their businesses on the same downtown block.  It may take a year, or maybe a year and a half, Muckinhaupt says, but the businesses will open.
  

He says the entire town is rooting for them.

 

"It's just great to be in small town America.  You can't beat it.  Just good people.  Honest people.  Hard working people.  You know, if I had to have a barn raising today, I'd probably be able to get this building up in 24 hours with all the help, the volunteers and people who want to help. I'm very humbled and very thankful to be part of Cambridge Springs," he said.

 

The barbecue equipment was not destroyed. Mr. Woody's will be opening in a temporary location, about a block away, in three or four weeks.