A prediction in 1970 that Low Moor, Virginia, a sleepy hamlet between Clifton Forge and Covington, would come alive during the next twenty years, along with the need for a nice restaurant in the area, inspired two fathers, Buddy Proffitt and Henry Dew, to purchase the home of John Shelton and remodel it into The Cat and Owl Steak and Seafood House. The vision of the fathers was to establish a restaurant with a railroad theme and call it C & O. Since there was already a restaurant in Clifton Forge by that name, it became The Cat & Owl and so nicknamed the C&O. The concourse to the building was constructed into a facsimile of a railroad platform. But during the process of remodeling, the theme shifted to Victorian with an accent on weathered barnboards, flocked wallpaper, and antique chandeliers. Charming old pictures of beautiful women and famous presidents adorned the walls. The Sports Room featured sporting equipment from past ears accented with classic hunting pictures and collector whiskey bottles.