Perry County Diner Rebuilds After Arson

A devastating fire caused by arson left much of Dodson’s on Broadway in ashes, but after months of rebuilding and community support, its doors are back open.

Cheryl Dodson became the owner of Dodson’s on Broadway nearly 20 years after her brother purchased the building from a struggling pizza shop who then sold it to her. After some touch-ups, the diner became synonymous with its fried chicken, all-day breakfast and southern comfort.

“At first, I thought I bit off more than I could chew,” Dodson says. “But now, I wouldn’t go a day without it.”

Dodson is hands-on with all things related to her diner. From the menus and specials, to the bills and payroll, she does it all herself. But after tragedy struck, she wasn’t alone. On the morning of Mother’s Day, May 11, 2025, a shed outside of the diner was set ablaze and spread to the building’s main structure just moments after.

In a moment of desperation, Dodson’s family, employees and town all came to the rescue.

“If it wasn’t for them, I’d have probably lost all hope,” Dodson says. “I bet I had 2,000 of them stop by within a week; or call and text to me to see what they can do.”

Her surrounding village helped raise over $52,000 in an account set up for her by Peoples Bank in New Lexington. The donations allowed Dodson to keep her entire staff after the fire, including her employee of nine years, Tequilla Hinkle.

“Once we had our fire, everybody came together and helped [Cheryl],” Hinkle says. “She does a lot for the community, so everybody just wanted to give back.”

Dodson donates and is involved with dozens of charitable causes each year and supports local athletics. The support Dodson has received in her county of roughly 35,000 is, in her eyes, second to none.

“You couldn’t put me anywhere in the world that I’d be happier than right here in Perry County,” Dodson says.

In just four months, Dodson had gutted what was left of the diner and rebuilt it from the ground up.

“Once them doors opened, it was like a revolving door,” Hinkle says.

Of her 23 employees, seven of them are members of Dodson’s own family. She says once you join the team, you become a Dodson for life.

“This is my family,” Hinkle says. “I don’t think I’d ever leave. I think I’m glued to this place for the rest of my life.”

Since reopening, Dylan Davies, 30, was charged with and sentenced for a felony of the first degree for his crimes against the diner. Dodson says she has no connection to Davies, but later discovered she catered his mom’s funeral just weeks before.

“I gave him my catering hall for free because [his mom] died of cancer, and we’re big cancer supporters,” Dodson says. “Come to find out, it was him that caught the place on fire.”

In the months following the fire, Dodson has been redecorating the diner with relics that she salvaged during the demolition. A melted metal clock, frozen in time at 3:51 a.m. when the fire engulfed the diner’s interior, hangs on the wall next to a partially melted door. They serve as reminders of what she overcame with the help of her family and neighborhood.

There may be a chicken hanging on the storefront of Dodson’s on Broadway, but its new symbol isn’t a bird that they cook in a fryer. Instead, it’s a phoenix.

Dodson says a regular called her after the fire and says that she’d be “like a phoenix rising from the ashes.”

The restaurant’s interior is now plastered with the bird’s memorabilia and family photos with people who helped bring Dodson’s on Broadway back to life.