BIRD IN HAND, Pa. — Days after an explosion and fire leveled an adjacent hotel on its property, the Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord is back open and serving customers.
The Lancaster County restaurant, located on Old Philadelphia Pike in Leacock Township, officially reopened at 11 a.m. on Thursday, its owners said on Facebook.
Prior to reopening, the restaurant passed safety inspections of its building structure, gas lines, electrical and other systems, its message on Facebook said.
The restaurant was closed since a propane explosion and fire leveled the Bird-in-Hand Family Inn, a nearby building on the property.
The explosion claimed the life of Michelle Miller, who worked as a night auditor at the inn. Miller, 61, had worked for the company for 34 years.
Hundreds of people gathered on the grounds of the inn for a vigil in Miller's memory last Friday.
“Many people looked at her not necessarily as a colleague at work, but as a true friend,” said John Smucker, CEO of Bird-In-Hand Corporation, which owns the inn and its adjacent businesses. “We’re going to lose that and miss that. We lost that.”
The inn building sustained between $1 million and $2 million in damages. It was closed for maintenance and cleaning during the week of the fire, and will now remain closed until further notice.
“We are grateful that no one else was injured, and for the first responders from several local departments,” Smucker said. “We also want to thank the community for their outpouring of support. We have received so many calls from people asking how they can help.”
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the explosion.