A historic Philadelphia restaurant reopened at lunchtime Friday after a dumpster fire forced the eatery to close for a week.
"It was a huge task to get the repairs done quickly," said Walter Staib, chef of City Tavern located at 2nd and Walnut streets in the Old City section of Philly.
Firefighters arrived at the City Tavern at 2nd and Walnut streets in the Old City section of the city around 4:45 a.m. on Oct. 17 to find heavy flames overtaking a dumpster outside the building, officials said.
Smoke drifted inside the property, causing extensive damage to the building's exhaust system and electricity. There was no permanent damage.
City Tavern is considered the unofficial meeting place of the First Continental Congress. The current structure is a replica of the original bar, which was partially destroyed by a fire in March 1834, according to the restaurant's website.
Congress commissioned the historically accurate reconstruction of the City Tavern in 1948.
After nearly 30 years of planning, officials opened the new restaurant in 1976.
It is now part of Independence National Historic Park.
