The owners of a Camillus landmark who saw their business go up in flames this past winter are now reflecting on all they went through. Elizabeth Jeneault explains what had to happen in order for the Green Gate Inn and Pub to recover from the fire.
CAMILLUS, N.Y. -- When you visit the Green Gate Inn and Pub now, it's hard to imagine what kind of shape it was in just a few months ago.
It took at least 10 departments to get the flames that ripped through the Camillus landmark in mid-January under control. Its owners are thrilled to be back open.
"I'm happy to be back, happy to see my customers," said Natalia Meyer, who owns the business with her husband.
"We've been waiting six months to get back on track and it's good to see all the customers back," said her husband Philippe Meyer.
While the owners still don't know what caused the fire, they know that it started in the kitchen. It was the most heavily damaged area which is why that part of the building had to be rebuilt.
"The front part of the building, besides the roof area, was mostly water damage from when the fire department was chasing the fire," added Natalia Meyer. "The upper roof area, the gabled roof on the main part of the building, was completely destroyed."
Customers say they're impressed with the work and are happy to see the business back open.
"It hasn't changed a lot, so I'm glad they could preserve it as much as they have," said Meg Navagh, a customer.
Work isn't over quite, yet, though. The upstairs used to have several hotel rooms but the owners are now considering converting those into meeting spaces.
"Primarily for when we have a lot of the local clubs that want to meet. They like to have their meetings in a little bit of quiet, in a private area," said Natalia Meyer.
And while there's still work to be done, the owners say they're happy to have already put so much behind them.