KISSIMMEE, Fla. – One year ago the Vacation Lodge Maingate Hotel in Kissimmee was burned to the ground.
The fire burned for five days and displaced 150 people.
"It was scary. The fact that firefighters kept it contained is still amazing," Allyson Georgi said Friday.
Firefighters were able to keep flames from spreading to the Black Angus Steak House attached to the hotel, but smoke and water damaged the restaurant, forcing it to shut down for the past year.
"It has been so hard. I was upset with all the employees losing their jobs especially in this economy," restaurant owner Joseph Georgi said.
Exactly one year and three days later the restaurant is reopening its doors.
"We changed everything in the building. The walls, ceiling, tile, and furniture. Everything is brand new," Georgi said.
The owners have been hard at work to put the finishing touches on the restaurant. The owners say it has cost them over $1 million to repair the restaurant and hope it will be just as successful as they were before the damaging fire.
The hotel is now an empty field. We're told there are new owners that took over and plan to build a new hotel or timeshares but the plans are still in the works.