MOUNT POCONO -- A popular tavern in the Poconos, destroyed by fire last year, is once again welcoming customers through its doors.
Burke's Tavern in Mount Pocono is open for business with a new look and a new attitude.
When you walk into the tavern on Route 611 in Mount Pocono, it's hard to imagine a little more than one year ago a fire ripped through the establishment.
Officials said fryers in the kitchen caught fire then the high winds that day fueled the flames, which destroyed the place quickly.
Now, one year later, Owner James Burke is proud.
"I tell people I made lemonade. I had a fire. I made lemonade," said Burke.
That lemonade happens to be a brand new restaurant with all sorts of upgrades: a very long bar, flat screen TVs, a larger menu, plus Burke's Tavern is now triple the size it used to be and it's handicapped accesible.
Another key ingredient to the new Burke's Tavern is a slide show being aired on one of the TVs.
Nearly 300 pictures are displayed, and were all taken by the tavern owner. His goal was to capture every stop of the rebuilding process.
"My wife came up with this idea. She said, 'Why don't we do a slide show so people can see it?' Well, 285 pictures later, it takes about 25 minutes to go through it. People love it," said Burke.
Customers said Burke's Tavern is a great place to dine with a great new atmosphere.
"I think it's very nice. They've done a great job rebuilding it. The bar is nice. The decor is nice. Everything is nice," said Mitchell Conery of East Stroudsburg.
"It's great atmosphere. You get a lot of good feedback from family and friends. Everyone loves it here," said Steve "Clarky" Clark of Cresco.
Burke's Tavern on Route 611 in Mount Pocono has been open for a little more than a week and plans on being open for decades to come.