Fire tore through a central Pennsylvania landmark last month leaving it in ruin but from the ashes will come a rebirth.
The owners of Vissagio's, which was badly damaged in the fire, say the business will take six to nine months to rebuild.
Rosemary Lumadue tells WHTM-TV that the Nov. 10 fire at Visaggio's “has almost done me in.”
Pennlive.com reported that fire broke out in the kitchen of the well-known family-owned restaurant on Wertzville Road in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County, and quickly grew to five alarms.
The fire broke out in the kitchen area of the restaurant after it closed on a Sunday evening. A banquet hall area was damaged by smoke and water, but not destroyed. The barn housing the restaurant was badly damaged, its kitchen destroyed and an attached hotel was also damaged.
The restaurant opened in a former barn about 33 years ago. The barn's foundation survived the fire and will be the foundation of the new restaurant, which has earned national acclaim for its Italian cuisine.
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Cumberland County spokesman John Bruetsch called the restaurant's destruction a “loss to the community” that will be felt for a long time.
The restaurant has hosted diners for decades.
“You always knew you were going to get a good meal there,” neighbor Dimitri Zozos told Penn Live. “You feel like family when you are there. It’s a real shame.”
