When Sam Allen began working at Bube's Brewery in 1981, he was intrigued by a hole in the ground in the corner of the catacombs under the restaurant at 102 N. Market St., Mount Joy. Fast forward 40 years and Allen, now the owner of the establishment, is finally getting his chance to discover what's underneath the place.

"I've always loved caves and exploring," said Allen, who became the owner just a year after coming to Bube's. "I promised myself at 23 that during my watch, someday, somehow, I'd make the time to explore what's down there. I'm 62, and I decided the time is now. I don't want to wait until I'm 82."

Allen knew there were tunnels running underneath the 19th-century establishment, and in April, he brought in a company called GPRS, which used ground-penetrating radar to take a closer look at what's underground.

Well versed in the history of Mount Joy, Allen noted that the building across the street from Bube's was the home of Philip Frank, who helped finance the small brewery Alois Bube purchased from him in the 1800s. Legend says that a tunnel leading under the street to the home was used to supply steam from the brewery to heat Frank's house. The home now houses the Malt Baron's Mansion, part of Bube's Brewery's housing options. Bube's was also a speakeasy during Prohibition, Allen said, and it's possible some of the caves under Bube's Brewery were used to hide slaves who were escaping from Maryland in the 1800s.

"Some people think the caves were used as a waystation on the Underground Railroad for slaves who were escaping through Pennsylvania on their way to New York or eventually Canada," Allen noted.

Allen is working to bring buckets of dirt out of the tunnels, digging a little further with each excavation, and he's hoping to find an excavating company to help since he's currently hand-carrying the full buckets up to the street surface two floors above the project. He has also set up an opportunity for visitors to Bube's Brewery to peek into the hole and see the progress.

Allen works about once a month on the project and said it's slow going not only because it's a lot of work, but also because it's happening right in the middle of the Catacombs, a restaurant where dining events are regularly held. "This is an excavation site during the day and a fine dining room in the evening, so that's a unique challenge," he remarked.

While Allen is working, Sean Post has been making a documentary on the project, which he hopes to complete by Christmas. "This place is amazing. It's a piece of history, and I wanted to capture that," said Post, a professional photographer who learned of the excavation project after coming to Bube's Brewery for photo shoots.

Allen said his inspiration for doing the dig can be summed up in two words: "pure curiosity."

He isn't sure what he'll find as he continues to explore, but he's happy to be making his mark on Mount Joy history.

"We take our role at Bube's seriously as a destination in Mount Joy," he stated. "Being a good steward of this property and its history is something I'm very interested in."