W. Rick’s Taproom awaiting demolition permit
It has been four months since an overnight fire destroyed W. Rick’s Taproom and Grill, and the restaurant’s owners are awaiting permits to demolish the shell that remains at 269 Meridian Road in Butler Township.
Jesse Hines, Butler Township zoning officer, said Monday, June 17, that the township condemned the property and gave the owners 60 days to demolish the structure. The contractor for the demolition has reached out to the township for permits, but the township needs the green light from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection before it can grant the permits, Hines said.
“You can’t tear down commercial buildings unless you do an asbestos report and handle the asbestos properly,” Hines said. “The contractor has applied for the demo permit, and the last thing we’re waiting on to issue that permit is how they are handling that asbestos.”
According to Hines, the contractor conducted the asbestos study on June 12, and the results should be in within the next week.
Tricia Christy, a manager of the restaurant and daughter of founder W. Rick Reiber, said the process to get the building demolished has been “very daunting.” At the time of the fire, the owners of W. Rick’s were in talks to sell the restaurant, according to Christy. She said the owners are still unsure of what the future holds for the business and the property.
“We’re still going through the motions with it,” Christy said. “It will have been two weeks since the asbestos study.”
The taproom caught fire in the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 18, when no one was in the building. Firefighters received the call around 2:10 a.m., and the fire was out by 4:30 a.m., but left the building with a collapsed roof and heavy structural damage.
