A pinned post on Facebook from Lonnie’s Pizza has taken on new poignancy after a fire destroyed the building in which the pizzeria is housed.
Lonnie’s Pizza has only been open less than two years, debuting in Youngsville, Pennsylvania, in early February 2022. In its first few days of operation, the pizzeria quickly sold out of food and had to temporarily close down.
Lonnie’s owners had kept a “We Are Hiring” post pinned to the top of its Facebook page since February 2023. The post still remains there. But, in a heartbreaking setback, one of the restaurant’s owners announced in another post late Sunday night that “our building and shop were lost in a fire this evening.” They went on to add that there were no injuries. “As Lon and I stood there and watched, so many of you came up to us and shared such kind words of concern.”
Earlier this month, Lonnie’s Pizza had been struggling with phone system problems. On January 25, the owners posted about the issue on Facebook: “This past weekend experienced the worst with phones being down for significant periods of time. As a result, there were times we had to reset the system, and phones were unavailable until they came back online. However, new equipment has been installed to solve the problem, and all is working better now.”
According to the Times Observer, the fire was first reported at 7:15 p.m. on Sunday, January 28. Firefighters had gotten the flames under control by 9:30 p.m. No one was in the pizzeria at the time.
The exact cause of the fire hasn’t been determined yet, according to local media reports. The building is more than 200 years old and will reportedly be demolished.
The family-run Lonnie’s Pizza offers classic pies like the Meat Lovers, the Hawaiian, the Buffalo Chicken and the Chicken Bacon Ranch as well as sub sandwiches, strombolis, calzones and turnovers.
The pizzeria’s future remains uncertain. The owners simply told their Facebook followers, “We promise to keep you posted as things move forward. Thank you for your love and concern!”