By PAULA ANN MITCHELL
Freeman staff
pmitchell@freemanonline.com; twitter.com/anchoratfreeman

KERHONKSON, N.Y. — Fire destroyed the Rainbow Diner on U.S. Route 209 Monday despite the efforts of firefighters from more than a dozen departments.

George Haralabopoulos, who has owned the diner for 26 years, said he was sitting down, talking with a customer late Monday morning when they noticed smoke  outside the window.

“Right away, I got up, and I stormed into the kitchen and all of a sudden, I see the flames coming in through the hoods, the grill was on fire,” said Haralabopoulos, who lives in Lake Katrine.

He immediately called 911.

Accord Fire Chief Paul Rider said at the scene that the call came in at around 11:40 a.m., with the initial dispatch saying it had started in the restaurant’s grill area.

“It’s being a very stubborn fire due to … a couple of drop ceilings, so we can’t get inside because the roof is ready to collapse, so we’ve got to do everything outside,” he said.

Later Monday, Rider said the fire was finally declared out at 5 p.m., leaving the building a total loss.

“We had to bring in an excavator and tear it apart,” he said.

Rider said the blaze started as a grease fire.

Fire departments had to bring water in with their tankers because there are no hydrants in the area where the fire was. Route 209 was closed for several hours as firefighters battle the blaze. Continued...

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There were no reports of injuries to the staff or customers inside the restaurant, but one firefighter suffered a twisted ankle while battling the blaze.

Wayne Roosa, whose sister, Caryle Mitchell co-owns the diner with her husband, Haralabopoulos, said the business employed from five to eight people.

Crowds gathered along Route 209 to watch firefighters battling the blaze. Among a group of people huddled to the side was Lisa Bullock, whose grandfather, Henry Bendell, came to New York from Connecticut in the 1950s to build the diner.

It was originally called Bendell’s Diner, she said, and the family sold it to Haralabopoulos in 1986.

“It’s the end of an era,” she said, wiping back her tears.

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