NEW MILFORD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A fire destroyed a bar and restaurant in Susquehanna County.
It started just before midnight Tuesday at The Summit Restaurant on Route 11 in New Milford Township.
The Summit Restaurant burned for hours.
Tanker after tanker hauled water to the massive fire along Route 11 as firefighters battled the blaze from the ground and in the air.
"Could not even believe it. This has been here--there's just so much history into this building. And I mean I had worked here, I have partied here. I have eaten here, you know? And it's just really heartbreaking to see this much destruction," said Teri Gulick of New Milford.
The business is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Fire crews said no one was inside at the time of the fire and no one was injured.
When they heard about the fire, employees came to watch.
"I got a text message from someone else. I was just about to go to bed and this like startled me and I was really overwhelmed, and to see you know a place where I spent my senior year, it's heartbreaking to see this all go down. It really is," said Karris Fazzi of New Milford.
The business owner told Newswatch 16 a dozen people worked at the restaurant.
The building was a filling station and bar in the 1940s and '50s.
In more recent years, it was a place not only to eat and drink but to see live entertainment.
Fundraisers were held there and classic car cruises, too.
"They have antique cars come in and classic cars come in, bands, and it was a really nice family-oriented place to go," said Cheryl Decker of Kingsley.
Decker owns Randall's Ice Cream just across the road from The Summit. She handed out sweet treats to fire crews throughout the morning.
"Just utter sadness. I feel so bad for the families that are working and own and it's just a shame what is happening," she said.
A state police fire marshal said there was too much damage to find the cause and listed it as undetermined.
