Capping a rough three weeks for Calumet Fisheries, an “intense” fire broke out at the Southeast Side seafood institution on Tuesday, just four days after city health inspectors gave it the greenlight to reopen.
Shortly after 1 p.m., someone called 911, and crews burst inside the restaurant along the Calumet River, but “it was going up pretty fast,” said fire department spokesman Larry Langford. Worried that the roof, which was made of “old wood” would collapse, crews backed out as the fire quickly spread.
No injuries were reported, but damage to the one-story wooden building at 3259 E. 95th St. was “extensive,” Langford said, adding that it could be rebuilt.
Apparently undaunted by the difficult spell, a co-owner vowed to do just that.
“Oh yeah, we intend to rebuild, so we’ll see what our insurance company says,” co-owner Mark Kotlick told the Sun-Times.
On Tuesday evening, fire officials determined the cause of the fire was accidental and began due to an electrical issue.
The James Beard Award-winning eatery was ordered closed on Oct. 31 after the city health department found evidence of rodents, along with a dozen other minor violations, according to public health records. It then failed a re-inspection a week later when inspectors said evidence of pests was still present.
But the 75-year-old eatery passed an inspection Friday, according to Chicago Department of Public Health records.
Kotlick said the fire was “bad timing” because it’s the holidays, and business had been “booming” after the restaurant reopened over the weekend.
His cellphone began “blowing up” just after 1 p.m. Tuesday, he said, and the store manager called him immediately when the fire erupted. The blaze started in an area where the power service comes in, he said, leading him to believe it was an electrical fire.
For now, the staff will have to check their coolers, fire suppression system, exhaust system, the fryers, the display cases. “Hopefully those items are good,” Kotlick said.
Facing almost a month of lost revenue during the earlier closure, the restaurant almost didn’t reopen, Kotlick said over the weekend, but he cited his employees and “phenomenal” customers for keeping the business afloat.
“I’m ready to move on,” Kotlick said Saturday. “We just hope to continue to provide the Southeast Side with probably the best seafood in the U.S.”
The restaurant was named a winner in 2010 of the prestigious James Beard Awards nationwide competition, the Oscars of the food world.
Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by the shop during her visit to Chicago in January, and chef-author Anthony Bourdain visited in 2008 for his show “No Reservations.”
Contributing: Mariah Rush
