Elvis, Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart, Johnny Cash and Paul McCartney impersonators have lost their performance venue with the devastating fire of The Buckeye Tavern May 12.

The owners Hope and Terry Bender, as well as thousands of Lehigh Valley residents are in shock over the loss of the historical landmark.

On the evening of May 12, The Buckeye Tavern owner Terry Bender received a call from a server at approximately 7:30 p.m. saying "Buckeye on fire." Bender rushed to the scene to find flames at the back of the building. He said all of the lights were on, so he ran inside to make sure everyone was out.

All patrons exited the building safely and it was reported the staff was calm while orchestrating the exits.

"I shouldn't have gone in it was just instinct," Bender said.

"This is a death; I'm in mourning," Bender said.

According to The Buckeye Tavern website, the local landmark has been at 3741 Brookside Road, Macungie, since 1735. It was opened as an inn and hotel, operating through the late 1800s as the East Macungie Hotel and later as The Load of Mischief.

Bender, former owner of Sneaks & Cleats in Trexlertown for 20 years, purchased The Buckeye Tavern in December 2008.

For Bender, this is his second biggest loss– the first being the loss of his dad, the second being the loss of The Buckeye Tavern and the history associated with it.

"People came [to the Buckeye Tavern] because of the history for close to 300 years," Bender said.

Bender said the building was hard to keep up because of its age. "We did it and we made it better."

Some of the memorabilia at The Buckeye Tavern was accumulated by his father, Robert Bender who died in October 2008.

Those things, destroyed in the fire, can never be replaced.

"Some of the memorabilia was saved, but not much," Bender said.

A painting from the 1800s was recovered with only minor damage to the frame.

The Indian statue, which is a landmark, on the front porch was also damaged.

In October 2009, The Press ran a story about potential ghosts at The Buckeye Tavern.

Members of the Lehigh Valley Anomalous Phenomenon Investigation Society stayed in The Buckeye Tavern one evening armed with cameras, microphones, infrared thermometers, electromagnetic field meters and electronic voice phenomenon recorders.

"They caught a couple of things," Bender said in an interview with The Press at that time. "They made CDs and gave one to me. One sounded like an old person downstairs, an old lady. What was that voice, I don't know." Bender said upstairs they got something else.

"It sounded like this," He seemed to rasp out the word, Susan." Laughing, he said, "I came up with a drink. The Screaming Susan."

A LAPIS member placed an equine figurine on the bar during the investigation hoping to stimulate a response from a suspected spirit. EVPs later produced a recording that sounded something like a little girl whispering the word "horsie."

"We left the figurine behind by accident and when we went back, we couldn't find it. We searched all over the building and finally found it under the staircase, propped up against a wall that could only be reached by crawling on your hands and knees. We don't know how it got there," Maryanne Tettemer, co-founder of LAPIS said at the time.

On the morning of May 12, Bender was at The Buckeye Tavern fixing scratches on the tables.

"I love this place. It's my home away from home." Bender said he didn't treat his time at The Buckeye Tavern as a job.

The Buckeye Tavern had over 50 employees, some of them with a tenure of 20 to 30 years.

"I feel so bad for the employees," Bender said. "If I could bring them over to The Alburtis Tavern, I would. This is a family."

Bender met his employees in the parking lot of The Buckeye Tavern May 15 to distribute paychecks thank them for being part of his family.

Some employees have been with Bender since the fire helping the recovery search and with whatever Bender needs.

Manager Joette Dries, of Macungie, has worked at The Buckeye Tavern for 23 years.

"Every person in this place showed me respect because I showed them respect," Dries said. "It made my job easy."

Dries was onsite helping Bender with "whatever he [Bender] needs for how long he needs me." "He has a heart of gold," Dries said of Bender.

Dries said loyal customers are calling her. "There are so many memories in that building."

Employee Eric Rueda, of Alburtis, was also onsite doing whatever was needed following the fire. "It's a shame; it's like a dagger to the heart," Rueda said.

Reuda said Hope and Terry Bender took care of him "like I was their own son.

"This was our home. In an instant it was gone. It stinks; there is no other way to put it," Reuda said.

Customers have been taking to social media vowing to support the Bender family by crowding The Alburtis Tavern and helping with anything the family needs.

Memories are being shared of blind dates, receptions, weddings, family reunions and other special occasions.

Bender said he cannot thank the staff and patrons enough for their support. He has received thousands of calls and emails with offers of support.

A sold-out Elvis show was scheduled for May 17, but because his computers were destroyed, he was unable to contact those who had purchased tickets.

Bender said he would like to hear from those who had scheduled parties at The Buckeye Tavern to talk about alternate plans. Emails should be sent to terry@buckeyetavern.com.

"The last couple of days have been hard," Bender said in an interview May 15.

"I have received unbelievable support from the community. I appreciate the support and everyone who is helping me," Bender said.

Bender said the investigation is complete. The next steps are for the structural engineer to determine if the structure is sound.

Bender did have insurance on the property and his intent is to rebuild, but at this point he just doesn't know.

"The Buckeye Tavern is gone. Right now I have zero facts. I want to rebuild but it will come down to a business decision.

"Thanks for all the support," Bender said.