Ruby Falls has acquired the sole ownership of R&R Hospitality LLC, commonly known as R&R Outdoor, and its portfolio of 92 billboard assets in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina.
The regional billboard company was previously jointly owned by See Rock City (SRC) Inc. and Ruby Falls LLC.
Ruby Falls President Hugh Morrow stands in front of the falls, deep inside Lookout Mountain.
Construction to the new entrance of Ruby Falls is in full swing Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018."For many years Ruby Falls has been a true believer in outdoor advertising," said Hugh Morrow, president of Ruby Falls, in a statement. "This purchase reaffirms our long-standing commitment to the medium, as well as our desire to enhance and grow it for continued success."
R&R Outdoor is seen as offering advertisers the ability to reach audiences in key areas of the Southeast, according to the company.
Rock City decided to sell its interest in the outdoor advertising company while planning to remain a significant client, company chairman Bill Chapin said Thursday.
"Rock City has always been a leader in advertising and we're the grandfather of outdoor advertising with barns, billboards and bird houses," Chapin said. "But we're focusing on all media - internet, social and other advertising because it is a new world out there."
R&R's billboards advertise both Ruby Falls and Rock City as motorists drive nearer to Lookout Mountain. The reverse side of the billboards are usually leased to other clients, the company said.
The purchase price wasn't announced.
In 2000, Jack Steiner Sr., Ruby Falls then-president, and Bill Chapin, Rock City's president at that time and current CEO, partnered in R&R Hospitality LLC.
R&R Hospitality currently has five employees.
Ruby Falls is home to America's tallest underground waterfall and deepest cave accessible to the public, according to the attraction. It features a 145-foot waterfall located 1,120 feet beneath the surface of Lookout Mountain.
Rock City, which opened Garnet Chapin opened in 1932, offers a scenic view on Lover's Leap that the attraction claims allows you to see seven states. Rock City also includes a rock-lined trail that features Fat Man's Squeeze, and the Fairly Caverns and Mother Goose Village.