Repair work kept restaurant open

MILFORD — On an icy Christmas Eve morning in 2008, a car crashed into the side of Balch’s Restaurant in Milford, damaging the foundation, exterior and interior of the building. Fortunately, at the time of the crash, the restaurant was closed so no one was injured in the accident. Joe and Annie Balch, owners of Balch’s, asked Lattimore Construction to work with Balch’s insurance carrier, Traveler’s Insurance, to develop a plan to repair building damage while keeping the restaurant open for business. According to Norman Dexter, project manager with Lattimore Construction, the car hit the building on the masonry wall side where the electrical service was located. In order to repair the wall and keep the restaurant open, Lattimore set up a large generator running 24 hours a day until the electrical service could be temporarily relocated and the foundation repaired. With a tight three week construction schedule, Lattimore employees, John Albright and Jim Abrams, worked exclusively on the project to rebuild the exterior wall, replace the siding, and remove a fireplace that may have been compromised in the accident, replacing it with a bay window. Annie Balch praised Lattimore’s effort. “We stayed open the whole time. We only closed one day and that was by our choice. They put up a temporary wall and our customers wouldn’t even know they were working. They did an awesome job,” she said. Balch’s is a family-owned and operated seafood restaurant located on Rt. 6 and 209 in Milford. Call 570-296-7911. Lattimore Construction is located at 110 West Harford Street in Milford. They can be reached at 570-296-5369.