A Lehigh Valley dining institution was destroyed by fire Tuesday morning. Five firefighters were hurt in the Youell's Oyster House blaze but were released from the hospital, according to a WFMZ report.
The fire began around 4:15 a.m. in the restaurant at 23rd and Walnut streets, Allentown.
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Sub-freezing temperatures complicated the emergency as gallons of water used to battle the fire turned to ice.
Homes nearby were later evacuated so the remains of the restaurant could be demolished.
Youell's, founded in 1905, moved from Easton in 1992 to the West Allentown location. The restaurant's website says the Allentown building was a stagecoach stop and general store that dates back to the early 1800s.
The restaurant's current owners, the Filipos family, plan to rebuild, according to reports by the Morning Call and WFMZ.
Reviewers on websites Yelp and Tripadvisor call Youell's a "Lehigh Valley institution."
Known then as "Hemmerly's," still a highly loved 'diamond in the rough,' it was always a very special part of the best of the Hamilton Park community. ( Wed.[?] night was "Allentown Mafia, " however, they sat in a corner away from the main, & clientele sometimes just picked another night). Gone, but not forgotten, my sympathies to owners & employees, however, special request to rebuld in that same English ? Irish ? style ????