KINGSTON — Kingston Inn breakfast regulars Louise Love, Alfie Williams and Cecil and Glea Branstetter had just finished their meal at Drifter’s Galley Monday morning and headed over to the old Kingston Inn parking lot, just after 9 a.m.

They joined a group of several others who were all waiting to see the charred restaurant torn down to make way for the construction of a new one.

“Hurray, it’s getting done!” Glea Branstetter said. “We miss it.”

“We have to get back on track,” added Williams.

And so they waited.

And waited.

Inn owner Michael Prestley came over to chat. They watched fencing and other pieces of scrap along the north side of the restaurant be separated by an excavator and by hand.

An electrical contractor came, looked inside the structure and then left.

Finally, after about a half-hour, the regulars left.

Kingston Inn cook Greg Parypa was watching as well and decided to stick it out for a little while longer. He tried guessing what the two men who were working on the site were going to do next. He watched them remove a large dumpster from the west side of the restaurant with an excavator.

But throughout the day, there was very little work done on the site — or so it seemed.

While Zimmer Construction had been contracted to demolish the building Monday, asbestos had been found and the contractor couldn’t perform the demolition until they had been cleaned out, said Kitsap County Code Enforcement Office supervisor Steve Mount.

However, Zimmer owner Carl Zimmer said that while they can’t tear down the entire building immediately, they did get the OK to remove the rotting food and freezers from the site Tuesday morning, which had been creating an unsavory smell and numerous complaints in Kingston.

The asbestos will then be removed before the entire building will be torn down, Zimmer said, which is expected to be completed by the end of next week.