Pocono News Section

Peppermint Lounge Fire Still Under Investigation

Peppermint Lounge Fire Still Under Investigation - Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 6:48PM EST

SUNBURY, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY- A big blaze that destroyed a popular Sunbury nightclub is still under investigation.
Peppermint Lounge owner Robert Snyder is taking a look at what's left of his business. "It's devastating. It's, I'm still in shock. You know I haven't gotten much sleep," he said.

The whole nightclub is gutted. Friday night, flames ripped through the place. Snyder's son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter were in an upstairs apartment. They got out safe. Scott Weirck was one of a few employees in the nightclub when the fire started. "Just surprised, shocked. You know, so everyone got out safe, nobody got hurt," he said.

The night club was preparing for one of its biggest weekends of the year, a blues festival. That's what the owner and workers were preparing for when the fire started.

Fire crews were on hand Saturday, pumping water out of surrounding business. Neighboring buildings were damaged by water and smoke.

Peppermint Lounge has been a Sunbury staple for nearly 100 years. It used to be called Johnny Spaghetti's and before that Stefons.

Traffic was jammed for blocks Saturday as people took a look. Ed Frye remembers coming here years ago. "There's enough businesses going out of Sunbury and Sunbury needs some revitalization so I really hope he rebuilds," he said.

Snyder hopes to do that, once the damaged is cleared.