It looks like cleanup and reconstruction crews at the Dairy Bar haven’t wasted any time getting to work after a July 15 fire severely damaged the iconic Sanford landmark.
A photo recently posted by a Flame employee to the Sanford MEMES Facebook page, taken from the back corner of the restaurant in what had been part of the kitchen, shows the restaurant’s central dining counter as light pokes in from the doorway. The windows are boarded up, there aren’t any tables or booths, and the front counter is gone.
But if you’ve been there, you recognize it as the Dairy Bar. It’s a good sign for those who want to see the restaurant come back.
It may be hard to see such a beloved Sanford restaurant in such shape, but the photo shows remarkable progress – in less than a month’s work – from the conditions immediately following the fire.
Steve and Kathy Brewer, who own the Dairy Bar and the neighboring Flame Steakhouse (which suffered smoke damage and is also currently closed) pledged to reopen both businesses as soon as they’re able. Firm dates have not been announced.