A grease fire started at the legendary Midtown Billiards on South Main today around 11.
We are told that everyone was evacuated and appears to be safe. Midtown does not open until 3, so there were a limited number of people with access to the space. Raduno next door is closed on Mondays. People remaining above Midtown were evacuated.
Judging from the photos the interior of Midtown may be a total loss, we will check in with ownership once they have had time to assess to lean the final state of the building as well as plans for moving forward.
*Update: We are told the fire is now considered under control. South on Main, on the same block, will continue lunch service today and be open normal hours the rest of the week. Even though, please use caution in the area and allow for fire crews to continue their work on controlling the fire.
The crew at Raduno next door to midtown has no update. Due to the still-active fire they have not been allowed in to assess the damage. We will update once they are able to inspect the restaurant.
**Update 2: Raduno has confirmed that they do have smoke damage, but appear to be structurally ok. They will have a team assess the smoke damage either today or tomorrow and then make a decision on service for the rest of the week. We are told they will do everything in their power to me open.
We are told the bulk of the fire damage inside Midtown was toward the front of the bar. Smoke damage is obviously extensive throughout the space.
We will continue to monitor this story and update as we know more information. Steve Shuler has a video of the fire in progress.
We are told that everyone was evacuated and appears to be safe. Midtown does not open until 3, so there were a limited number of people with access to the space. Raduno next door is closed on Mondays. People remaining above Midtown were evacuated.
Judging from the photos the interior of Midtown may be a total loss, we will check in with ownership once they have had time to assess to lean the final state of the building as well as plans for moving forward.
*Update: We are told the fire is now considered under control. South on Main, on the same block, will continue lunch service today and be open normal hours the rest of the week. Even though, please use caution in the area and allow for fire crews to continue their work on controlling the fire.
The crew at Raduno next door to midtown has no update. Due to the still-active fire they have not been allowed in to assess the damage. We will update once they are able to inspect the restaurant.
**Update 2: Raduno has confirmed that they do have smoke damage, but appear to be structurally ok. They will have a team assess the smoke damage either today or tomorrow and then make a decision on service for the rest of the week. We are told they will do everything in their power to me open.
We are told the bulk of the fire damage inside Midtown was toward the front of the bar. Smoke damage is obviously extensive throughout the space.
We will continue to monitor this story and update as we know more information. Steve Shuler has a video of the fire in progress.
