SHIOCTON (NBC 26) — The River Rail Bar and Banquet Hall in Shiocton caught fire Wednesday afternoon from an undetermined cause. The bar has been a staple in the community for decades. Former longtime employee, Cheryl Pahlow, and Shiocton local, Ann Shears, stopped by to see the establishment they loved.
"Yeah, it's the place. It's the staple in this town that bounded this community together," Shears said.
"People got married here, people had funeral lunches here," Pahlow added. "It's where everybody met... Oh, now I'm going to cry."
The blaze grew devastating as the bar and banquet hall eventually began to collapse.
"It was just a sad day and people that were coming out just to see it and people were crying on the streets and stuff," Pahlow said.
One of those watching was Sharie Allen, who lives just a few blocks away.
"I walked out of my door and it already was thick smoke from this," Allen said. "So I knew it wasn't good."
Sharie hopes this is not the end of River Rail.
She says, "It would be nice if they could rebuild it, I don't know if they will but this is the only one we have in town."
After speaking with the owners, Cheryl and Ann are ready to begin relief efforts.
"We're going to work on a GoFundMe," Shears said. "We're going to work on an account setup at the bank which is right next door, so that they can hopefully rebuild and put this community back together as a whole."
There is no certainty that the venue will rebuild, but Shiocton and River Rail will look to heal together.
"The love and support is right here, and you saw it yesterday," said Shears.
