The city of Chattanooga is ready to tear down the partially collapsed brick building in the heart of downtown that housed the Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurant and Chattanooga Ghost Tours.
The city got permission to demolish the building at 138 Market St. from Circuit Court Judge L. Marie Williams, the city issued an emergency demolition contract not to exceed $120,000 and it hired Pates Hauling and Demolition LLP, to knock the building down.
Demolition could begin today, Deputy City Attorney Phil Noblett said Monday.
"We asked them to do it pretty quickly," he said.
Eva Pates, who owns the demolition company, couldn't immediately be reached for comment Monday afternoon to say when demolition would begin.
City officials gave the building's owner, George W. Walls Jr., of Kimball, Tenn., a chance to demolish the building, Noblett said, and also extended the offer to Charlie and Renee Eich, who leased space in the building for their Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurant.
"We asked both of them to tear it down," he said.
Walls didn't respond, Noblett said.
Charlie Eich said, "We gave the city the go-ahead: It's yours, do as you please."
There's no love lost between Eich and Walls. Walls blamed the building's collapse on Eich. His son, Kenneth Walls, who managed the property, said it was the restaurant's responsibility to shore up the wall, which showed signs of crumbling before it collapsed in a several-second whoosh on the afternoon of March 29. Walls has filed suit against the Eichs.
Meanwhile, Eich said that Walls was "living on Fantasy Island if he thinks it's the tenant's responsibility" and plans to sue Walls.
Eich also said Monday that when the building is demolished, he's going to lose property that belongs to his restaurant, including a grill, a setup table, a walk-in cooler, and an HVAC system, as well as leased equipment, such as an ice machine. Eich said he hasn't been able to retrieve the items, since the building's been condemned.
"The building was condemned by the city, so we couldn't access it unless we paid or [Eich's insurance company] paid to shore up the building," Eich said. "So, we're going to smash good stuff."
Kenneth Walls said Monday he's out of the loop as far as the building's concerned, and he didn't know how to contact his father.
The city expects to get back the money it spends to demolish the building.
"We will file a municipal lien for the cost on that," Noblett said.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsFor Business or on Twitter @meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.