Wbg.'s iconic Grist Mill Restaurant gutted by fire

WARRENSBURG | The renowned Grist Mill Restaurant in Warrensburg suffered massive destruction early morning Nov. 29 when a fire tore through the historic structure. Constructed in 1824 as a grist mill, the historic timber-frame building sits on the southwest bank of the Schroon River in Warrensburg. For decades, the restaurant has been a destination of choice for local residents' special occasions, as well as for tourists from across the nation seeking a glimpse of America's rural history. Offering people rare insights into Adirondack-region industry almost 200 years ago, the restaurant's interior featured gears, grain chutes, steel wheels and other original mill equipment— as well as massive beams hewn from trees harvested locally. Detecting the fire, emergency medical responders driving past in an ambulance at about 2:21 a.m. saw both smoke and flames emerging from the building, and they called 911. Members of the Warrensburg Volunteer Fire Company were called at 2:23 a.m. Sunday, and they were on the scene in a few minutes, authorities said. New Warrensburg Fire Chief Jason Hull, awakened by the dispatcher's fire call, was one of the very first to respond. He was up, dressed and out the door of his house within a minute, he said. "The Grist Mill is a big piece of our town's history, and you don't want buildings that old to go, but we did our best trying to preserve it," he said. When Hull arrived, flames were leaping out of the windows — the fire was fully involved, he said. Town Supervisor and fire company president Kevin Geraghty was also on the scene of the blaze. He reported that firefighters, within a few minutes of their arrival, were dousing the flames with water pumped onto the building by three pumper-tanker trucks. Water was drawn both from hydrants and from the Schroon River, he said. Warrensburg had 17 firefighters battling the blaze, and more than 30 other firefighters from Chestertown, Lake George and Bolton also fought the fire. Horicon fire personnel stood by at the Warrensburg fire house and their North Queensbury counterparts covered the Lake George fire station during the hours that the other personnel were quelling the blaze. Town water department employees responded too — they fired up the pumps that would keep the town's water system storage tank from running dry. "There was excellent teamwork among the fire companies and all the others involved," Geraghty said. Warrensburg firefighters were at work on the scene until about 10:30 a.m.. Geraghty said that the Cause and Origin team of the Glens Falls Fire Department was summoned to investigate the blaze to figure out how it started. Hull said the agency's personnel were focusing on the kitchen area, but the cause hadn't yet been determined as of Monday afternoon. The historic riverside grist mill has had at least three owners since it was turned into a restaurant in 1976 by Nancy Fitler. Ash Anand, who has restored various buildings and residences in Warrensburg — and launched several local businesses — purchased the restaurant in late summer 2015 along with his wife Jaime. The Grist Mill has been renowned for fine cuisine and its historic ambiance for nearly half a century, Geraghty said. "We're devastated by the loss of the historic Grist Mill — you don't want to ever see these historic buildings ravaged by fire," he said. It's not only about the structure's historic value, but the value it has to the community and to our town's visitors, as well as providing local jobs. This this a very well-known restaurant, and the ambiance is going to be sorely missed." Geraghty added, however, that Anand had told the restaurant's workforce, numbering nearly 30 in summer seasons, that he was going to rebuild the restaurant. "We wish Ash and his staff well, and we're encouraged that he wants to rebuild the structure," Geraghty said. "In the meantime, our community will experience quite a loss."

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Wbg.'s iconic Grist Mill Restaurant gutted by fire

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