Patrons Have Fond Memories of Restaurant that Burned in Columbia, Mo.

Byline: Nate Carlisle

Aug. 18--LeAnn Stroupe says her fellow employees at The Old Heidelberg Restaurant also were her good friends.

So much so that Stroupe, who worked as a waitress at the Heidelberg from 1989 to 1993 while attending the University of Missouri-Columbia, says she and other members of the wait staff took vacations together every year for seven years, going to such places as Washington, D.C., New Mexico and the Caribbean.

This morning, Stroupe was making plans to call those old friends and tell them their old workplace and hangout was gone.

The Heidelberg, 410 S. Ninth St., burned down early this morning. The cause of the fire …