Motorists showed concern as they passed the Redings Mill Inn yesterday. Smoke continued to billow from the cupola atop the roof long after firefighters had extinguished the flames. Bitter cold contrasted with the heat that built up inside the structure.
The fire originted at the back of a clothes dryer, according to a representative from the Missouri Department of Fire Safety, and spread through the upper story walls. Sonny and Rosalie Wiles, owners of the 132 year old restaurant, lived in an apartment above the dining portion of the building. No one was injured by the fire.
We Don't Like to Boast, But We've Got the Coldest Beer Closest to the Ghost"
An ad in the Tri-State Spooklite Booklet of 1955 for the restaurant once known as Wimpy's Redings Mill Inn encouraged spooklite spectators to pick up "hamburgers by the sack" and "fried chicken by the box" as a snack to take with them to see the light. In recent years the restaurant became a haven for billiard players, aficionados of karaoke, and or locals who just wanted to hang out for a while. A banquet room was reserved by local organizations, including the local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Magicians who met the first Monday of each month.
"Turn left at the Redings Mill Inn" is a direction that appears in several current ads for other establishments. "It's part of the landscape," a passerby noted. "Redings Mill would not be the same without it."
The owners plan to have the damages caused by the fire repaired.
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