Ye Hare 'N Hounds Inn, a nearly 100-year-old restaurant in Bemus Point, will be closed for the busy Memorial Day weekend after a fire ripped through the back of the building on Lakeside Avenue Thursday night.
The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office reports it received a 911 call around 9 p.m. about a fire at the restaurant. The owners and some customers were inside when the fire started.
Eight fire departments responded along with Chautauqua County Fire Coordinators and a Tech Rescue Fast Team. They found fire in the back of the building off the kitchen and on the second floor. Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames in several hours.
The Chautauqua County Fire Investigation Team determined the fire started where an exhaust chimney pipe met a wall. Investigators say the exhaust, which was connected to the kitchen broiler, had deteriorated and caused heat from the broiler to get into the wall. The fire spread through the wall studs to the second floor.
The fire was ruled an accident. No one was hurt. A fire chief at the scene tells 7 Eyewitness News Ye Hare 'N Hounds will be closed through Memorial Day weekend. The restaurant suffered fire, water and heat damage.
Ye Hare 'N Hounds opened as a private retreat in 1915. It became a restaurant in 1921.
