HANOVER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) – A popular ice cream stand and restaurant in Hanover Township was destroyed in a fire Sunday morning.

The owner said the fire happened just as the business was getting back on its feet.

A huge ball of flame was all that could be seen by a convenience store surveillance camera nearby.

The landmark EZ Pickins Restaurant went up in flames around 6 a.m.

“When I got here, it was totally engulfed in flames. There was nothing that nobody could do,” owner Brian Meyers said.

Meyers watched his life’s work go up in flames Sunday morning. He had just finished paying off new equipment and was told the cause of the fire is electrical.

“We had everything in this business trying to get it back up and going,” Meyers said.

EZ Pickins Restaurant had been a fixture in the area for 50 years. The new owner took over about a year ago and said things were starting to pick up.

Now, he’s out of business with little or no chance of rebuilding.

The business is located at the corner of Route 18 and Steubenville Pike. It specialized in hot dogs and hamburgers, ice cream and other treats.

“This hurts the area. This was vacant for five years. The gentleman that just started this up last year really helped the rest of us. They’d send customers to us, we’d send customers to them,” Brian Foflygen said.

Meyers said insurance won’t cover the full cost of rebuilding, but some neighbors are pledging to help.

“They are the greatest people in the world. They’re so nice and to have something happen to them is devastating,” Martha Baxter said.

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