By: Lydia Crawley The Parsons Advocate
Davis will soon have a new restaurant. Plans are in motion by Steve Barkley and Vicki Riggs to construct the new restaurant at the site of the old Davis Inn. The project is slated with a working name of Blackwater Davis, but does not as yet have a name set in stone, according to Riggs.
Riggs went before the Davis Town Council with her husband, Gary, on April 25th seeking approval for a building permit for the new construction. The permit was granted, paving the way for the project to move forward. According to Riggs, both spouses will work for Barkley at the new restaurant, but Vicki Riggs’ name was on the building permit.
“I think it’s a great addition to the area with the way its going to be constructed and the way the business is going to be ran and I think I’m really excited about it,” Riggs said.
Riggs said she was familiar with the owner of the old building that was on the site and the issues that the site has with water. Barkely and Riggs are working to mitigate water issues at the site, Riggs said.
“I’m really conflicted because it had to be torn down and the reason is because of the water problem that we’re trying to, you know, fix it currently so the new building will be fine,” Riggs said. “We all know the problem with the whole area.”
Riggs has over 40 years of experience in the bar and restaurant industry, she said. According to Riggs, she and her husband were tapped for the project due to her experience and their previous experience as proprietors of the old Country Roads in Thomas.
“The chef that he’s hiring is a great one and I really, really think everyone in the community is really going to like the food,” Riggs said.
The new building is slated to have a brewery, but according to Riggs, it is intended to only serve the restaurant and not be as big as Stump Town or any of its competitors.
“I think he’s just going to use it for the facility,” Riggs said. “But who knows, no one knows, but if it goes good in the future, who knows?”
Gary Riggs said that the new restaurant will be designed to double as a shelter in case of emergencies, much as the Riggs had opened the doors of Country Roads during Superstorm Sandy.
“From the beginning, my desire was to have it be part of the community, to be a place where, God forbid, there was a disaster, first responders could meet there, if there was another Superstorm Sandy, that residents could come there, I had it set up that residents could stay open, not to sell, but to have a safe place, warm that people could come and that’s Steve’s heart, too in this, to be a member of the community and to be an asset,” Gary Riggs said.
Gary Riggs also said that the new restaurant does not seek to be in competition with anyone else in Davis. Riggs said that the restaurant will strive to establish its own identity in the community by being unique.
“Blackwater will not be competition with…anybody else,” Gary Riggs said. “We’ll be our own. There’s plenty to go around and that’s what’s beautiful about Tucker County and Davis and Thomas, in particular.”
