EAU CLAIRE — One year after a fire burned down the borough’s longtime market, the lot where it used to be remains empty as residents hold out hope that a new business will eventually fill that void.

On April 17, 2014, a fire broke out at Delisio’s Market at the corner of Route 38 and Route 58. The blaze destroyed the building, and volunteer firefighters had to work vigorously to prevent it from spreading to two neighboring buildings.

For 31 years it was Thompson’s Market, and before that, it was known as Beatty’s Market from the time it opened more than 100 years ago.

It was a general store that carried most grocery items and also made sandwiches.

Mechelle Sloan, who has lived in Eau Claire her entire life, said the sense of community there has been lost ever since the market burned down.

“It’s really hurt the town. It was a gathering spot; it was a meeting place. You don’t see the foot traffic anymore. And people don’t really have a reason to stop here,” Sloan said. “It pretty much destroyed the town.”

Employees of other businesses in the borough, including Excellence Automotive next door and Hunter Truck Sales across the street, would frequent the market for lunch.

“It was very convenient. The guy’s from Hunter’s would go over there all the time,” said Susan Myers, assistant manager at the Farmer’s National Bank in the borough.

Many people in the Eau Claire area now go to Slater’s Meat Market on Route 38 south of Eau Claire or to the IGA in Emlenton, Myers said.

For more specific items, people typically travel north to Clarion or south to Butler, she said.

Stephen Buzard, who grew up in Eau Claire and works at Buzard’s Funeral Home, said the general store was meaningful to generations of people who either worked there or have youthful memories of walking there to buy candy.

“It was kind of fun growing up here. The store was booming back then. I remember when you could go get a candy bar for a quarter,” he said.

Gus Thompson, the previous owner, said he sold the market to Patty and Tim Delisio of Cherry Valley about nine months before the fire. The state fire marshal never made a determination on the cause of the fire, he said.

During Thompson’s time running the store, it had a loyal customer base both of residents and of people passing through.

“Even though the Walmart and Giant Eagle hurt us, we had a lot of Pittsburgh people going up (Route) 38 north to their camps. We would start to see them in March and continuing through October. We had some very devout loyalty. Those people would stop in year after year,” Thompson said.

The market also catered events at churches, fire departments and other events such as the North Washington Rodeo, he said.

Zac Slater, owner of Slater’s Market, said his market has gained some business in the past year since it is one of the closest food stores to the area that Delisio’s used to serve.

Business at Slater’s also has increased in the past few years due to natural gas drilling operations creating more traffic on Route 38, he said.

“With these new gas wells coming in, there are all kinds of workers around,” he said.

Buzard said that several years ago his family owned a lot on Route 38 across the street from the market that they attempted to sell or lease to Sheetz.

Sheetz was interested in the location because of the amount of traffic on routes 38 and 58, but ultimately it turned down the offer because the borough has neither sewers nor city water.

Thompson said he believes another grocery store or restaurant could be successful in the borough if the right person decided to open one.

“I think it would be successful, if they want to put the hours and the work into it,” he said.

The Delisios did not return calls for comment on the status of the property.