Downtown Cave City may not have been asleep, but it certainly was dozing. Then, Leticia Cline arrived on the scene. This Barren County town with a population of just under 2,500 is beginning to wake up, especially downtown.
Located 10 miles from Mammoth Cave National Park, Cave City has boasted businesses that capitalized on the thousands of visitors attracted to the area’s caves. While downtown Cave City may have been snoozing, exit 53 off I-65 was wide awake with a proliferation of motels, restaurants and attractions.
Cline is not new to Cave City, even though she was away doing other things for a while. “I was born in the Glasgow hospital but raised in Cave City, and that’s where my passion is,” she said. “I truly love this area. Floyd Collins was my great-great-uncle.”
In 1925, Collins became famous worldwide when he was trapped in a nearby cave and died after 14 days.
The 45-year-old Cline has led a rich life. At 17, she worked at Horse Cave Theatre, where she acted and helped with sets and costumes. The Barren County High School graduate studied at Western Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky, concentrating on psychology and finance. “I figured if I can manage my money, I can do anything,” she said.
While she was in her mid- to-late 20s, Cline spent much of her time living in Florida and attending film and video school while modeling to make ends meet. She landed a job interviewing television wrestlers. The high-energy Kentuckian also found time to establish a solid relationship with the motorcycle community in the Sunshine State. “Growing up, my dad taught me about motorcycles at his garage,” Cline said. “I rode them at an early age.”
Later, she sold her car and bought a motorcycle on which she logged more than 200,000 miles.
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Cline’s dad, David Passmore, died in 2008, a life-altering event for Leticia. She stayed around Cave City to help her mother, Debbie. Her father’s death had such an impact on her that she no longer wanted anything to do with motorcycles. “I stayed in Cave City for about eight months before moving to New York for a bartending job,” Cline said. “I told the bar’s owner I would turn the slowest nights into his biggest. And I did.”
Using her education and charm, Cline eventually became the marketing director for two Fortune 500 companies, working in marketing for five years while not giving up her bartending gig. “It was all about networking,” she explained.
Over the years, Cline worked with a clothing company, a water jet-pack company, SuperMotocross racing, journalism (“the first time I got paid for writing something”), modeling for a couple of magazines, a movie and a reality television show.
An accident in South Dakota while motorcycling prompted her to return to Kentucky. “A bison charged me and hit my knee,” she said. “I went back to Glasgow for knee surgery and stayed to help my grandmother, who had dementia.”
It was 2018, and Cline wanted something new in her life. “I had lived a lot of lives, and I was tired,” she said.
Cline had built a network with several motorcycle companies, and she was about to put it to a test. “My dad’s shop was just the way he left it a decade before when he died, and we turned it into a free community motorcycle shop,” she said. “We called it Smiley’s Garage. That was his nickname, and it was an immediate success. We built a community with it. Every day, people are there.”
Then Cline decided to take her passion for Cave City to the next level. “My sister [Shannon] and mom told me about some old buildings downtown that could probably be bought,” she said. “We [bought them], and in 70 days, we opened The Dive Bar on Broadway.
“Opening that quick was unheard of. But we had the support from what we created at Smiley’s. We had lots of help, opened in 2019, and made it through COVID.”
Leticia, Shannon and Debbie formed Glass Ceiling Enterprise LLC and under that name purchased the old 1900s Ace Theater building a few steps from The Dive Bar.
Finding investors to put their money into high-profile restoration projects is not always easy, but those three local women stepped up and did it.
“People couldn’t believe three girls were doing all of this,” Cline said.
Work was soon under way to turn the old picture show into the Ace Coffee Company at 203 Broadway in the heart of downtown.
Restored floors, glass cases, lighting and comfortable chairs and couches make the perfect ambiance for coffees in the morning and wine, craft beers and classic cocktails in the afternoon and evening. Muffins, toast, fruit smoothies, wraps, brats, bagels, quiche and coffees are featured on the menu.
Before walking through the front door, visitors are drawn to the large neon sign that some mistakenly think has been restored. “That’s what we want people to think,” Cline said. “But it’s a new sign that has been built to look like the original. I wish we could have found that one.”
A couple of small shops at the back of Ace Coffee Company and a community stage in the lot next door complement the shop.
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Jeff Jobe publishes the Barren County Progress based in Glasgow. He knows a thing or two about downtowns and revitalization, and the restoration and preservation of old buildings. He did it in Glasgow to help bring its downtown back to life. “She’s doing a really good job,” Jobe said of Cline. “She’s got to stay positive. A good eye for renovation is important, and she has it.
“Cave City and Park City [also in Barren County] have growth potential. The growth of a community is from individuals, and that’s what these two towns have.”
One such example is Wigwam Village on U.S. 31 W in Cave City. Four years ago, Keith Stone and Megan Smith purchased the iconic motel. Built in 1937, the structures were in disrepair. With work on Wigwam Village nearing completion, occupancy is near capacity.
Paul Sullivan operates Paul’s Antiques in downtown Cave City. “We’ve got six antique shops in town, but I’m the only one downtown,” Sullivan said. “We’re starting to see results from those new businesses. We see people coming in with Ace Coffee cups. The longer we can get and keep people downtown, it is good for all of us.”
Maury Peters and his wife, Deborah, visited a friend in Horse Cave a few years ago and realized there were no pizza shops around. “We drove over to Cave City and found a spot downtown,” Maury said. The couple purchased the vacant space and opened a pizzeria three years ago.
The 55-seat Cave City Pizza sits across from Ace Coffee, and the spillover of customers works for both.
Prior to opening Cave City Pizza, Maury had operated a food truck in New York and then in Florida before deciding he had had enough of the food truck scene. “We love this area, and after we saw what Leticia was doing, it made our decision easier,” he said.
Jennifer McNett, director of the Cave City Tourism and Convention Center, said she is pleased with the growth of downtown. “We provide a grant for one of the big downtown events—Cars and Coffee,” she said. “We hope it benefits both the locals and tourists.”
The event runs from April through October.
Debbie Thorpe wears two hats as president of the Cave City Chamber of Commerce and owner of Raven’s Cross Village of Adventure, a popular tourist attraction. “We love seeing all of the new growth and investments here in Cave City,” she said. “The new and newly revitalized buildings certainly make the area more inviting to tourists as well as those looking to make Cave City their home.”
Greg Davis is a former Cave City tourism director who served in several high-level roles before retirement. He recognizes the contributions that Cline and her family make. “They’ve made quite an investment,” he said. “What Leticia has done is fantastic.”
Those into reality television likely have seen the History Channel’s American Pickers starring Mike Wolfe, a frequent visitor to Cave City, as he and Cline have become a couple. “When I first moved back here, a production company wanted to do a show based on motorcycles,” Cline said. “That’s where I met Mike. I wanted to do a show, Small Town America, based on building up small towns. COVID interrupted, and we ended up not doing the show.”
Always looking to make a difference, a few years ago Cline ran for office and won a seat on the City Council. She then ran for mayor and lost by 60 votes.
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Bowling Green is about 38 miles from Cave City, but BGKY Downtown Development coordinator Telia Butler has watched with admiration what is happening there. “Downtowns all feed off of each other,” Butler said. “I try to have a relationship with all of our area small towns. We copy off of each other, and that’s good.”
Johnny Webb recognizes when something is done right, and he applauds what is going on in Cave City. The Bowling Green resident and successful businessman who headed up the “Beautify 65” project on I-65 from exits 22-30 has received state and national acclaim. “I am thoroughly impressed by what Leticia has done,” he said. “It would fit in New York or Boston. Investments like this will hopefully encourage others to do it. It’s contagious. Others will want to get involved.”
Cline is even placing Cave City on the international map. “I have met with a beverage company from South Africa about moving their operation to Cave City,” Cline said. “It’s all about networking.”
Cline lives in upscale loft-like quarters above Ace Coffee Company. “It works for me,” she said. “You know, I could live anywhere but chose to live in Cave City.”