The scanner on Wellsville City Clerk Brittany Bishop’s desk signaled that the fire department had been dispatched to Martinsburg on the morning of Feb. 21, 2024.

“I heard the address and I knew what it was,” said Bishop.

Bishop, in addition to her job as city clerk, worked on and off as a waitress and bartender at Teddy Joe’s Bar and Grill for more years than she can remember, but something she will never forget was when she heard that the restaurant was on fire.

Immediately, she got a hold of the chief of police, who raced over to the site to send her a picture. Knowing this was serious, she closed city hall for the day and went to Teddy Joe’s.

“It broke my heart,” Bishop said with tears in her eyes. “I sat and watched it burn.”

To many like Bishop, Teddy Joe’s wasn’t just a restaurant.

“You’re just part of a big family. Your clients keep track of you, you keep track of your clients and it’s just a big extended family,” she said.

And not having it for 13 months was heart-wrenching.

The Teddy Joe’s origin story

Teddy Joe’s first opened in 2004. It was built by Ted Wieberg who wouldn’t dare answer to anything other than Teddy Joe now.

“I thought I would build a tavern that would sell a few steaks because Martinsburg hadn’t had one for a while and I grew up here,” said Teddy Joe. “I never dreamt that it would grow into what it was – not in my wildest dreams.”

Teddy Joe owned a nightclub and bar in Mexico before he decided to come back, not only to his hometown, but somewhere he knew very well.

“The building that burnt started out as my grandpa’s blacksmith shop, (and) then it was Wieberg Implement for years and years and years,” Teddy Joe said.

The restaurant’s iconic blacksmith logo and old iron blacksmith sign paid homage to the building’s roots and his family ties.

Having grown up working in the shop, Teddy Joe knew he had to buy it when the space became available.

For many years, Teddy Joe’s was the only restaurant in Martinsburg and to many, it was a very special place to catch up with old friends and meet new people.

The day they got the call

“It was 10:45 in the morning when Kelsay called and said, ‘The bar is on fire’ and the only thing I said was, ‘Is everybody out?’” said co-owner Brandy Wieberg.

Kelsay Brennan, a Teddy Joe’s daytime waitress, had been in the restaurant preparing to open when she noticed the fire. She and the cook got out unscathed before making the call to Brandy.

“I had seen pictures of the fire before I got down here and I thought, ‘oh, that’s not a big deal, they'll get that out.’”

But the stubborn fire, which started in the area just above the front door, had been burning in the attic for quite some time and could not be put out.

“It got too hot in here, too quick,” Teddy Joe said while looking up at the ceiling as if inspecting it.

When Bishop arrived on the scene, two of the cooks and one of the daytime waitresses were already there.

“We just all stood there and we were devastated. It was like watching your house burn,” said Bishop.

For a resident living in the apartment attached to Teddy Joe’s, that actually was the case.

“She had been asleep – she had little to no warning to get out,” said Bishop. “She literally got out with her purse; that was it.”

From the ashes

The building was a total loss. Everything had been reduced to rubble save for the occasional piece of metal decor that could be dug out of the ashes.

“You watch the cleanup as the weeks follow and then all of a sudden it’s empty,” said Bishop.

To say Teddy Joe’s was grieving would be an understatement.

“You’re just kind of numb – you don’t know what to do, but we had to keep going,” said Teddy Joe, who had originally considered not opening back up at all.

It was his wife Brandy, who has been working at Teddy Joe’s for 14 years, who was not ready to say goodbye to the restaurant.

“If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have reopened,” he said. “She was so good at it and she loves it so much.”

That, combined with the fact that they had recently had the Teddy Joe’s name trademarked, encouraged the Wiebergs to rebuild.

They were closed for 13 months before they were finally able to reopen.

“We learned a lot about ourselves,” said Brandy.

“Teddy Joe’s 2.0”

Every inch of the restaurant, from floor to ceiling, is new but the layout is pretty much the same, which is why Brandy calls it “Teddy Joe’s 2.0.”

“It’s kind of nice, we got to do a few changes that would have been convenient before,” said Brandy.

Because the original building had been built on so many times before, there were parts of the restaurant that weren’t on the same level and the Wiebergs were happy to see the ramp up to the game room go. The new restaurant also sits a little further from the road, leaving more room for large trucks to park.

A lot of the signs hanging on the walls are similar to the ones that once hung in the original Teddy Joe’s. Members of the Martinsburg community made sure to rally together and provide them.

“People really helped us,” said Teddy Joe. “It’s a wonderful community.”

Teddy Joe’s didn’t host any fundraisers or events simply because they never had to ask for any of the overwhelming support they received.

“I am not one to ask for help, and a lot of people know that, so they would just start stopping in,” said Brandy. “Putting everything together and building it took a while and it took a lot of hands.”

When Teddy Joe’s Finally reopened March 26, Martinsburg got excited.

Most of the original staff returned to work at Teddy Joe’s, including Bishop, and good thing, too, because since their doors opened, Teddy Joe’s has stayed busy welcoming in a range of guests from local regulars to out-of-towners.

“Everyone missed our food - I know I did,” said Brandy.

“I didn’t have a good steak until we opened back up,” added Teddy Joe who, despite having a steak dish with his name on it, said he can’t cook one as good at home.

Brandy said she has been spending a lot of her time in the kitchen preparing, ordering and stocking food for the inevitable rushes, but she doesn’t mind. Her dream is to see Teddy Joe’s thrive for at least another 20 years.

“I’m glad we’re back; it feels good to be at work again,” Teddy Joe said with a smile. “Last year not doing anything, I thought I really liked it, but now I don’t think I did.”