Scotia restaurant back in business after burning down in 2016.
SCOTIA, NY (WRGB) The Dairy Circus is back at it, after it was condemned and knocked down because of a fire.
"Once we got the place going again it's almost as if it didn't happen," says owner Robb Klemons
This fulfills a promise from owner Robb Klemons that he would rebuild after the old building caught on fire, and was demolished.
"My son Ryan wanted it, my wife wanted it. I was a little iffy but everybody convinced me the right thing to do, and now that I did it, I know it's the right thing to do," Klemons says.
Klemons says his family's owned this restaurant for decades, and it was once used for a scene in the movie "The Place Beyond the Pines." Klemons says the building is bigger and more modern, but regulars say the food tastes the same.
Scott Caruso has been a customer since 2009. He says this was the first place he ever dined at since moving to town.
"I saw the high school across the way and I thought this is where my kids are gonna go to high school and this is where my I'm gonna raise my kids and this is a great place to eat,” Caruso says.
Darlene St. Amour says she spent a lot of lunch breaks here. And when it was demolished she says it created a void in the community.
"They've kept the same charm but they've modernized it,” St. Amour says.
Klemons says that after reopening in November, after only a few months, he feels right back at home.
"People are so happy that we've rebuilt this kind of takes away any bad feelings,” Klemons says.
The Dairy circus started out as a Dairy Queen back in the 1970’s before Klemons’ father renamed it as the Dairy Circus.
