Now, the neighbors of the restaurant have brought new concerns about the building to the board last week. The walk-in freezer behind the building was open and still contained food, neighbors said, the roof was collapsing and animals were living in the building.
The health district board issued orders May 7 giving the owner 14 days to make repairs, secure the property, remove trash and clean up the site.
Neighbor Jeff Smith has lived at the lake since the ’80s. He said he remembers when the Blackhawk Inn was a good restaurant.
“Fix it up, clean it up or tear it down,” Smith said.
Current owner, Darrell Johnston of DeGraff, said he didn’t have the money to make the repairs last year, including to relocate a well as ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency.
But he now is working to raise the money to improve the property and has already started repairs, including to the roof.
Johnston said he would like to re-open the business at some point this year.
Tim Smith, spokesman for the Logan County Health District, said Johnston hasn’t responded to them so far.
“We have not received any response back from the owner regarding some of the issues we had with refrigeration and things like that, which gave us cause to suspend the license,” Smith said.
Smith said he has noticed that some improvements have been made recently, but he is still concerned about the future of the restaurant.
He said in all his time at the lake, he is starting to see some of the historic “gems” close.
“Being around the lake for the number of years I have, these iconic spots around the lake are part of the heritage of the lake,” Jeff Smith said.