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.