PLEASANT MOUNT, Pa. — Bar patrons and hungry customers are back at the Red Schoolhouse. The business had been closed since mid-November when a fire tore through the place in Pleasant Mount.
Owner Shawna Evarets says the restaurant had already been struggling financially because of coronavirus shutdowns.
"It was definitely a double punch that hurt very badly."
Evarets says a problem with the furnace led to the blaze. It took five months and hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair the damage.
"Flooring and walls had to be rebuilt; electrical had to be totally redone, new furnace, new plumbing," Evarets said.
Customers we spoke to said it was difficult when the red schoolhouse was closed for all those months because there aren't many places to eat around here.
"There's not too many places out here to go," Helen Wenk said. "This place is a hub in the area."
"if this place ever went, I don't know what the area would do. Really, it is that good of a place to be," John Sciblow said.
Evarets is happy to be reopening during a time when COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants are easing up.