WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Baker's Cafe 33 owners Jeff and Midge Hendershot tried to keep as much of the flavor of their original steakhouse in the rebuilt digs.

CANTON It was the place where Jeff and Midge Hendershot met and then fell in love.

Their three children had been raised there, sometimes sleeping in booths while mom and dad worked. It became their family business in 1997.

On a cold Sunday night in February, it was taken from them by a fire.

Electrical arcing in an attic area sparked a fire that initially damaged space above the kitchen. Jeff Hendershot had been at the restaurant earlier in the day calling in food orders. He called Canton firefighters and believed he had dodged disaster.

But the doused fire rekindled and later on Feb. 8 Canton firefighters were back at the restaurant. Flames were through the roof, which soon collapsed. The building wound up being a total loss.

The next day as the Hendershots watched firefighters work in the debris, the couple vowed to rebuild. Last week the Baker's Cafe 33 reopened at 1927 Stark Ave. SE, larger and redesigned, but with the same owners, employees and menu that made the 83-year-old restaurant a Canton icon.

"It's been a process," Jeff Hendershot said of the rebuilding effort.

While it wasn't easy, it has been worth it for the couple and their three children, Keith, Jennifer Presutti and Emily. The family is awestruck by the reaction of customers who missed the restaurant over the 10-month shutdown.

"People are really excited about us being back," Keith Hendershot said.

After working with the insurance company, the Hendershots hired Doug Prestier Construction and other local companies to rebuild.

The new restaurant sits on the site of the former Baker's and has the familiar dark green on the building's top half. Customers enter through double doors, but instead of navigating a hallway, they walk into a bar area. The dining area has booths along the walls and tables with enough seating to accommodate past crowds. A party room is just beyond the main dining room.

Midge Hendershot said she drew out her idea for architects. She likes having the bar area flow into the dining room.

"I think people will be blown away by the new ambiance," Jeff Hendershot said.

The only things salvaged from the gutted restaurant were some of the photographs that dotted the walls. Canton firefighters managed to carry them out, Jeff Hendershot said. "We're very thankful for that."

Midge Hendershot said she worked with daughter Emily to mount and place the salvaged photos in new frames. The photos dot the walls above new booths.

When the restaurant's roof collapsed, debris and water damaged the bar and a vintage telephone booth — from 1945 — that were part of the original building's ambiance. It was impossible to reclaim and repair the damaged items, Jeff Hendershot said. "There were just things that you can't replace. So we didn't."

Midge Hendershot describes Baker's Cafe 33 as a family restaurant. The couple believes the new design offers more of a restaurant feeling than the original building, which was some what dysfuctional as a restaurant.

"It was built to be a mill bar and it turned into a steakhouse," Jeff Hendershot said.

After the fire, the Hendershots were asked about finding a new location for Baker's. People suggested moving downtown, to the Belden Village area or to Massillon. The couple wanted to stay put. People from outside Stark County know the location because it's close to Interstate 77 and U.S. Route 30.

More important, Baker's Cafe 33 is part of the southeast side neighborhood. "We didn't want to take something away from this area," Jeff Hendershot said.

The couple feels blessed to have been able to reopen the restaurant and by the support they've seen from customers. A Facebook post about the reopening on the Baker's Cafe 33 received more than 1,100 likes, was shared 470 times and had 171 comments.

They will continue to push forward, Midge Hendershot said. "We did it for 20 years and we hope to do it for the next 20."

Reach Edd at 330-580-8484 or edd.pritchard@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @epritchardREP