What’s Up With The Lake House?

The Lake House, a popular bar and restaurant on Roosevelt Drive in Seymour, has closed.

For the season?

The large statue of the deer in front of the business is gone. A sign in front of the door simply reads “Closed, thank you,” with no further information.

There are conflicting reports as to whether the restaurant has simply closed for the winter, as several Valley residents said on our Facebook page.

One reader said she called the restaurant and was told it would open March 1.

The Valley Indy left four messages with owner Michele Zurko-Smith this week. None of our calls were returned. The Valley Indy also stopped by the restaurant in person. We also called the town’s fire marshal, the First Selectman, the building inspector and the town’s economic development director — in addition to posting a query on the Valley Indy Facebook page.

Here’s what we cobbled together.

A man answering the phone at the business Tuesday said he was there cleaning. He said the business had been closed since a fire last month. He said the owner has decided to do renovations and that the Lake House will open again sometime in the future. He couldn’t give a precise date.

He gave the Valley Indy a phone number for the owner. We dialed it and left a message.

About That Fire

The business has been closed for a month.

While the Seymour Fire Department was sent to the restaurant on a report of a fire in the Lake House basement Sept. 9 — there was no fire.

The restaurant’s basement was flooded — along with many other places along the Housatonic River — thanks to the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

Fire Marshal Paul Wetowitz ordered the Lake House to shut its electricity because of the flooded basement. He said he did not order the restaurant to remain closed, though. Nor did Seymour’s building inspector.

“The fire department went there awhile ago when the basement was totally flooded. All we told them at the time was you couldn’t open because the basement was totally flooded. Then we left,” Fire Marshal Paul Wetowitz said.

The restaurant was formerly the Riverside Restaurant. It became the Lake House in 2007 — and underwent a massive renovation.

Its location is ideal. It is the only restaurant on the shores of the Housatonic River in Oxford, Seymour or Derby. The place was usually packed Thursday through Saturday.

It averaged four our of five stars, based on 10 reviews posted on Google.

It is rated 3.5 out of five stars on Yelp, based on nine reviews.

This story will be updated if more information becomes available.

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