Two years after a restaurant in Three Rivers burned down, and killed a loved
member of the restaurant's family, the family rebuilds and overcomes tragedy.
The Sequoia Cider Mill Restaurant is located along Highway 198 in three
rivers.
CBS47's Lemor Abrams shows us the family's commitment to rebuild.
On the way up to Sequoia National Park, a Mexican Steakhouse is the first
restaurant you'll see.
Waitresses take orders on ipads, a state of the art kitchen serves up local
meats, and dining tables are set amid the picturesque mountains.
But just two years ago, the place was a pile of burned rubble, and Efrain
Ponce promised to rebuild and bring the family back together.
"Before the restaurant was built there was sadness, but now it faded away,
but now we're more happy," said Efrain Ponce.
The Sequoia Cider Mill burned to the ground in June 2012, after a carbon
dioxide container exploded...killing Ponce's 13-year old nephew George
Gonzalez.
"He wanted to work here and that was his dream to be involved with the
restaurant," said Ponce.
Everyone who works at the Cider Mill is family.
"We're all together, like how it was in the past," said Ponce's Daughter.
Diana Glass used to dine at the restaurant before the deadly fire.
"It was such a loss ...but they've rebuilt it and made it a beautiful entry
into Three Rivers," said Glass.
Peter Sodhe of the Three Rivers Chamber of Commerce said, "Even if we don't
have the original structure there is a sense that this is the original Sequoia
Cider Mill."
And after a special ribbon cutting, Ponce invited his guests to dine in honor
of his nephew.... proving the power of healing.
"I figure that any bad thing that happens, it's accompanied by something
better," he said.