Olde Liberty Station makes plans to rebuild

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Olde Liberty Station goes up in flames

BEDFORD — Despite a major fire Friday that caused the Olde Liberty Station restaurant to close its doors as it rebuilds, its owner says public support for the century-old Bedford landmark and its future is strong.

Owner Harry Leist said there has been an outpouring of community support for the restaurant and its staff in the aftermath of last week’s blaze.

“I can’t say enough about it,” said Heather Williams, Leist’s daughter, who works at the restaurant. “The calls, the e-mails, the texts, the people stopping by … It’s been overwhelming.”

Leist and several employees were at the restaurant at 515 Bedford Ave. early Monday to clean out the kitchen, which he said was largely unaffected by the fire. The business had adequate insurance, he said. He did not provide the cost of damages.

Firefighters in Bedford arrived at the scene shortly before noon on Friday to find heavy smoke showing from the roof, which eventually collapsed into the dining area. The cause was determined to be “accidental,” a result of a torch used by a painting contractor who was burning paint off exterior tiles, according to a news release from the Bedford Fire Department.

Leist said he plans to meet with the restaurant’s full staff today. It employs nearly 50 people, including management, he said.

Rebuilding will include a full roof replacement and some interior remodeling that would likely take several months, Leist said. He indicated it could reopen by early 2010, though he didn’t give a specific date.

“It’s everyone’s livelihood,” Leist said of wanting to rebuild. “Secondly, this is a wonderful town. It’s absolutely the best place I’ve been in 36 years (in the restaurant business).”

Leist and staff knew customers on a first-name basis. People from Bedford, the surrounding area and even across the state stopped by regularly, he said.

“The clientele is the biggest memory,” Leist said.

Williams said the business has shared weddings, deaths and births with locals and watched children grow into adults in the eight years it’s been operating.

“It’s a family place,” she said.

The structure was built as a train station in 1905 and moved to its present site two years later, where it served travelers until passenger rail through Bedford stopped in 1971. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It also plays a part in the story of the National D-Day Memorial, located about a mile away — it was the place where the “Bedford Boys” boarded the train for World War II and, eventually, the front lines of the Normandy Invasion.

“We get a lot of tourists who specifically ask about the station because they’ve heard about it,” said Sergei Troubetzkoy, Bedford’s tourism director. “A lot of people are rail buffs so that’s part of the appeal.”

StellarOne in Bedford opened an account Monday for anyone wishing to donate to the restaurant — deposits could be made from any bank branch.

Williams said the proceeds would help the restaurant’s staff during the rebuilding period.

Members of Eastlake Business Association are also responding to help out the restaurant, according to Jay White, executive director. Ben McGhee, who operates Benjamin’s restaurants at Smith Mountain Lake and Forest, offered temporary employment to the station’s staff if needed, as well as honoring any coupons and promotions the station had offered. Tim Ernandas, owner of WSLK 880 AM — a Smith Mountain Lake radio station — pledged to give Leist free advertising and a radio interview to assist the rebuilding efforts.

The restaurant is a member of the association, which White said has more than 200 members in the Smith Mountain Lake region.

“We just feel like it’s the right thing to do,” said White. “Olde Liberty Station has been a long-standing asset to the community and we need to help them out.”

The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce will also set up a place to donate to the restaurant during its annual expo from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Bedford Area YMCA, said Susan Martin, the chamber’s president. Like many organizations in Bedford, the chamber regularly hosted dinners at the station and paid for its catering services. Martin called it “a very good supporter of the chamber and the community as a whole.”

The restaurant will continue to ship cheesecakes, according to its Web site.