Deer Park Tavern and the Environment

February 2, 2010 · 3 comments

To All Our Friends

During the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, January 26th, Deer Park Tavern suffered a devastating structural fire. The flames quickly engulfed the historic wooden structure and all was lost. Thankfully, the restaurant was unoccupied and no one was harmed. It is a time of great sadness for all of us who have been part of Deer Park Tavern for the past 15 years. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have passed through our doors and supported us over the years. We deeply value the relationships we’ve cultivated with so many of you and the way in which you’ve welcomed us into your community. Your loyalty allowed us to grow and thrive through other difficult times. And when this smoke clears, we intend to forge ahead through this most challenging time and rebuild your neighborhood restaurant. We are trying to see this tragedy as an opportunity to create a bigger home for an even better dining experience for you. In the mean time, we have received many calls and emails asking what you can do to help. Of course, we appreciate all thoughts, prayers, and well wishes…we look forward to seeing you again soon.

~from www.deerparktavern.net~

Deer Park Tavern

Deer Park Tavern

Deer Park Tavern in Katonah, NY is a restaurant where I took Emily for lunch to celebrate after her first semester at her new Middle School. The restaurant was also the place where my husband and I had dinner, while nervously waiting for her from her first Middle School Dance. We had dinner there after her first Science Fair, congratulating her on a ‘job-well-done’. It was a down to earth and laid back place where home cooked style meals were served. We loved their ‘to-die-for’ sliders.

So, when I saw a chaotic scene with numerous fire trucks in front of the restaurant while driving Emily to school last Tuesday morning, my heart sank. More than 100 firefighters from 10 departments fought that early morning blaze. The building was totally gutted and as you can see from the photos, the only thing that was left was the front door and the vestibule. It is a sad sight to see every morning.

And do you know what started the fire? A washing machine. Yup, a modern appliance of convenience brought down a beautiful historical structure that has been around since the 50′s. Sadly, the way the fire started and gutted this icon of an establishment in the neighborhood made me think about the environment and how we are slowly, no, quickly destroying our environment because we want convenience. We wanted it yesterday. We want it now. We want it easy. Period.

Once our environment is destroyed, we can only cry about the memories and what “could have been”. Deer Park Tavern owner vows to rebuild. The town liked the restaurant and I’m sure the owner will bring it back. People will be happy. I know my family will be.

Our planet, however, doesn’t have that luxury. Once it’s destroyed, it’s done. No rebuilding is possible.

We need to act now before it burns down to the ground. We need to prevent the fires by putting out the little embers starting everywhere.

Please reduce.

Please reuse.

Please recycle.

You can start putting out the embers before it’s too late.