KINGSTON — Almost a year and a half after the popular Kingston eatery, the Kingston Inn, burned down in an electrical fire on Sept. 20, 2005, owner Mike Prestley told the Herald Friday all plans to rebuild the property have been halted.

The Kingston Inn will not be returning to the Little City by the Sea.

“The bottom line is to build the restaurant on the same footprint is too expensive,” Prestley said. “The cost is overwhelming. The menu prices would have been way too expensive, like $30 a dinner.”

In an effort to try to rebuild and keep food prices down, he formed a partnership with a developer to construct a new building with a restaurant on the ground floor and topped off with expensive condos reaching several stories into the Kingston skyline. The developer reneged on the idea, as did Prestley’s other partners, when it became apparent that the condos — which were in the $1 million range — would not sell in Kingston.

Now, after more than 30 years of running the Kingston Inn, Prestley has decided to throw in the towel.

“It’s sad,” he said. “It’s really sad.”

A more complete story will be available in Wednesday’s issue of the North Kitsap Herald.