Old Country Buffet building coming down near Valley View Mall

A familiar restaurant near Valley View Mall is coming down.

The former Old Country Buffet building is being demolished, while the future plans for the property are still something of a mystery.

The lot between Olive Garden and a Kwik Trip on Hwy. 16 has been fenced off for most of this month. About half of the former cafeteria was still standing, as demolition workers had the weekend off.

The cafeteria opened in Onalaska in 1996 and closed abruptly two years ago. The Old Country Buffet chain filed for bankruptcy in 2016, and the Onalaska location closed about a month later.