SCRANTON -- Flames scorched a popular diner in Scranton Tuesday afternoon.
Employees at the Glider Diner say the flames didn't do too much damage to the building, but the smoke made a big mess and it might take a day or two to clean it all up.
While the Glider is known for its gravy, employees say grease was the culprit here.
A photo from a viewer shows the flames from inside the kitchen. The fire ignited around 12:30 p.m.
Neighbors say the flames and smoke shot out of a vent on the roof.
Employees said the fire didn't do too much damage to the building, but the kitchen will require a lot of cleaning before customers can come back in.
It would have been a busy day for the diner.
"We came a little early to go to the Glider Diner to eat, you know, like we usually do. Now we can't!" said Lori Bennett.
The Bennett family from Tunkhannock came for a bite ahead of a big track meet going on across the street at Scranton High School.
"We've eaten there before, besides track days, but it's just a disappointment, you know? You come down, and there's a fire," said Bennett.
The Glider Diner is an institution known for its signature dishes.
"They have an open-faced roast beef, lots of gravy," said Roger Perry.
Perry hoped to introduce friends to the Glider. He just hopes the fire doesn't interfere with his weekly ritual.
"They got to reopen, especially for Sunday. This is where I come on Sundays," Perry added.
The owner wasn't able to tell us when the Glider Diner would reopen, just that he expected the cleanup to take at least a day.
A neon sign caused a fire at the place back in 2012.