The Station: Bernardsville Begins Rebuilding After Fire

Bernardsville, NJ -- Construction has begun at The Station: Bernardsville after a fire ripped through the restaurant and displaced residents living above.

“This week we put the shovel in the ground so to speak,” Harold Imperatore, Principal at Bernardsville Station, told Patch.

The fire broke out at the historic building on Route 202 around 3 a.m. on Jan. 8 but now remediation is beginning on the inside.

“In the whole restaurant there was not one flame inside so we though we could have a quick reopening,” Imperatore said. “It turns out all the water spraying during the fire went through down into the kitchen. Everything in the kitchen was ruined and the water also seeped through the floor.”

A combination of water damage and smoke damage caused most of the restaurant to be destroyed.

“The whole restaurant is being stripped,” Imperatore said. “The floor, ceiling, basically it is a shell. We are starting from scratch. The only thing worth saving was the bar, that was fine.”

The plan is leave the layout essentially the same as before but there will be different colors and finishes to lighten up the inside.

Imperatore says there will also be some “surprises” as well.

The apartments will take a bit longer to finish. But the Station is expected to be open for business by Memorial Day.

Keep up with any updates on the Station on Facebook or online at www.thestationbernardsville.com.

(Photo, Station Bernardsville Facebook)