Wednesday, March 11, 2015

SNOW AND ICE CAUSE RESTAURANT ROOF TO COLLAPSE IN ONONDAGA, NEW YORK





MARCH 11, 2015

ONONDAGA, N.Y. (AP) 

Ice and snow caved in the roof of the newly renovated and opened Cider Mill Restaurant on Fay Road, causing extensive interior damage and sending staff fleeing into the parking lot.

No one was hurt. The ice appears to have collapsed the roof, which then crashed through to the second story floor, crushing it and sending debris down to the first floor.

"It was literally thousands of pounds crashing through the building," said owner Dan Seeley, who heard the news from colleagues today while vacationing in Puerto Rico. "It's like a bomb went off."

Chef Doug Clark and about five or six other staffers were prepping for opening tonight, when they heard the noise above them. All managed to get out of the building. It happened after noon today.

Seeley, vacationing in Dorado del Mar, Puerto Rico, said he's reaching out to his insurance company. He has no idea how long repairs and reopening might take.
"It's tough being here and not being able to do anything," he said.

The Cider Mill opened at 4221 Fay Road, between Onondaga Boulevard and Route 173, in November. Seeley and his wife, Teresa, have operated Diamond Catering from the building for 13 years, and did extensive remodeling last year to open the Cider Mill as a restaurant serving "upscale comfort food."

The building once housed Morey's Mill, well known for its apple cider and Friday fish fry dinners. The original building burned down in 1963, and Gwynn Morey built the current structure then, Seeley said.

Dan Seeley initially shared the news via Facebook to his friends:

Horrible news.. Ice has totaled the newly renovated Cider Mill. Being away certainly isn't helping things right now. Thank God no one was injured in this mess. I survived the flood twice here but I'm not sure I can do this again.. Feeling devastated.. 

Chef Doug Clark said he was in an office in the building when he "heard a loud roar" and then what sounded like an explosion.  He and two other employees were able to get out. He says roof trusses collapsed, but the major damage is to the front of the building, and the "integrity" of the rest still looks good. Dan Seeley, meanwhile, says shoveling the top section of the roof would have been "too hazardous to attempt." To those who say he was lazy, he points out that running the restaurant and catering company is a 10 to 12-hour-a day job, seven days a week. He took a 4-day vacation with his wife and kids.