The full extent of the damage at Snug Harbor on Keuka Lake is hard to tell in the dark.
"Yup, there's a lot of damage," said owner Tim Tompkins.
A flashlight reveals crumbling ceilings, scorched chairs and shattered chandeliers.
"I was just shocked when I walked through the property," said Tompkins.
Snug Harbor is a popular and scenic destination for tourists and residents on Keuka Lake in Hammondsport. It caught fire early Monday morning, after flames erupted in the chimney.
"It's just shocking to see old oil paintings that I collected over the years gone, and the devastation to the historic building itself," said Tompkins.
Nyssa Trepes, Snug Harbor's operating manager, also lives on the top floor of the restaurant. She woke up on Monday to the smell of smoke.
"I wanted to save my cats, and my boyfriend had to pick me up and basically drag me out," Trepes said.
Firefighters arrived and saved all four of Nyssa's cats, but then she was left with nothing to do but wait.
"Standing on the side of the road and watching the place burn, I felt like my dreams and my goals and everything I worked so hard for was burning with it," said Trepes. "It was frightening. And this place is so loved by all of us, the community, myself, and to think that it could've been gone was just one of the worst feelings in the world."
Snug Harbor is more than just a restaurant. In fact, it was a hotel when it was first built in the 1890s. Since then, it's become an important part of the community.
"If you travel the Southern Tier, people tell you that they had their 18th birthday party here; they're in their 60s, or they had their wedding anniversary party here and holidays. I think it means a lot to people," said Tompkins.
As he gets ready to repair the building, Tompkins is thankful that no one was hurt, and that the flames were contained.
To help with the repair costs, Snug Harbor has set up a GoFundMe page.