Fire Destroys Valley Hotel Weeks Before It Was Set To Reopen
JEFFERSON HILLS, Pa. (KDKA) - Months of renovations at the Valley Hotel went up in flames Sunday night.
"Gone. Gone. In a matter of hours," said co-owner Kevin Falk. "Last night was terrible. It just wouldn't stop."
Falk said the bar just passed a health inspection Thursday, and it was set to open in March. Now there's barely anything left.
"I just want to know how," he said. "The whole community's mad. I'm mad. Sometimes it ain't fair."
He said the Valley Hotel on New England Hollow Road in Jefferson Hills has been there for centuries.
"It's been around since the 1800s, so it was supposed to be haunted. Now the ghosts have nowhere to go," Falk joked. "I love the history behind it. That's why I bought it."
After sitting vacant since 2019, he decided to remodel it last July.
"We re-did the whole downstairs, the bar, the kitchen, stage," said Falk. "It was going to be a cool little spot for live entertainment because bands have been coming here for years, and they were so excited to come back and play."
Now weeks before it was set to reopen, there's barely anything left. Falk watched helplessly as smoke continued to rise from the building Monday morning.
"They're going to tear it down today, and then I guess I have to decide if I want to try it again," said Falk.
Even in this moment of despair, he said he's going to push forward.
"You got to put your boots on and get back to work," said Falk. "Cry about it, and you got to move on and do it again. I did it once and I can do it again."
One woman lived in an apartment above the bar, and she got out safely.
Meanwhile, the Allegheny County fire marshall is still trying to pinpoint how the fire started.
