The Dansbury Depot opened as a restaurant about 30 years ago but the building itself was built in the mid-1800s as a train station.
"It's devastating. It's very upsetting. It brought me to tears," said restaurant manager Melanie Guindon.
She watched in disbelief as fire crews worked to put out the last few hot spots of a fire that partially detroyed Dansbury Depot on Crystal Street in East Stroudsburg.
"It's worse to go over there and look inside and see what it looks like because it was just a beautiful restaurant," Guindon added.
Fire crews said the flames broke out a little after 2:30 a.m. at the historic landmark.
Investigators believe the fire started somewhere in the restaurant's roof.
John Kercsmar lives right down the street. "I actually watched the fire and there were flames emerging from the upper story at about 3 a.m. 3:30 a.m.," said Kerscmar.
Old pictures of the depot in its heyday are now covered in soot and ash.
Before becoming a restaurant the depot was known as a popular stop on the Pennsylvania railroad. Built back in the mid-1800s as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western train station the depot has become a landmark for the area.
Fire crews said the building's age made it difficult to fight the fire.
"You get through a wall and then there is another wall and then it gets trapped in other voids and areas. We basically had to let the fire come through the roof to us to fight it," said East Stroudsburg Fire Chief Larry Bunting.
Locals hope this is not the final stop for the Dansbury Depot.
"It's a real shame. This is a real cornerstone of the main commerce in this part of town," Kercsmar added. "It's a real lose. I certainly hope they have adequate insurance so they can rebuild it."
There is no word from the owners on what is next for the building.
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