After a fire in late January destroyed one of Blowing Rock’s historical landmarks, visitors and neighbors alike have rallied to support the employees of Bistro Roca.

In the early hours of Jan. 25, a fire broke out in the basement of the restaurant and bar, quickly consuming the almost 100-year-old building. The initial cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Blowing Rock Fire Department. No one was in the building at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.

“As soon as we heard about it, the first thing I could think about was, okay, what do we need to do?” said Seth Hickel, a longtime customer of Bistro Roca. 

Hickel and his husband quickly put together a GoFundMe for the employees, which has now raised nearly $33,000. Hickel said Bistro Roca became a place of respite where they knew they would be taken care of. 

“We thought we needed to return that favor a little,” he said.

The Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce also organized their own fundraiser, which has now amassed over $100,000 in donations, according to a press release on Jan. 28.

“In just three days, donations poured in from residents, visitors, local businesses, and supporters from across the region — a powerful testament to the deep connection the community has to Bistro Roca Family,” read the statement from the chamber.

In a post on Facebook, the restaurant expressed deep gratitude and admiration for the money raised.

“That number is overwhelming, but what it really represents is something even bigger: compassion, loyalty and the kind of small town heart that makes this place so special,” read the post from Bistro Roca.

Bar manager Katelyn Parker, who has worked at Bistro Roca for almost 20 years, said the outpouring of support from the community has been staggering.

“Being grateful and thankful doesn’t even scratch the surface,” she said. 

But this doesn’t surprise her.

“The walls may no longer be standing, but the spirit and the culture live on,” she said.

Parker and her husband, Seth Parker, who is Bistro Roca’s executive chef, were at home when they received the news of the fire. Because of the ice storm that weekend, Bistro Roca was closed. 

“We’re extremely lucky,” she said. “Typically, we would have been either there or on our way to get ready for Sunday brunch.” 

The town of Blowing Rock didn’t just lose a restaurant, but a piece of its history. According to the Blowing Rock Historical Society, Antlers Bar was originally built in the 1920s as a pharmacy, and purchased by restaurateur Dewey Isenhour in the 1930s, who eventually passed the ownership on to his son. 

Cobb and Cindy Milner purchased the building in 2005, re-branding as Bistro Roca, but kept Antlers Bar operational. At the time of the fire, Antlers was the oldest continuously serving bar in North Carolina.

For customers and employees alike, Bistro Roca was more than a place of work or leisure, but a memory capsule. Under the initial post on Facebook announcing the destruction of the restaurant, hundreds of commenters lamented the loss and shared fond memories of Bistro Roca and Antlers Bar. 

“One thing for certain is that no matter what, we will all come back and make new memories and put new pictures on the wall. That you can count on,” one comment read.

The restaurant’s website has been scrubbed, leaving only a message of gratitude, and below, a promise to rebuild, “Not if, but when.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article included an incorrect time frame. This has since been updated.