A landmark restaurant on the west side of Burton Village Square went up in flames March 9 despite the efforts of Burton Volunteer Fire Department and crews from nine other departments.
A landmark restaurant on the west side of Burton Village Square went up in flames March 9 despite the efforts of Burton Volunteer Fire Department and crews from nine other departments.
Burton Fire Chief Mike Sestak said someone called the station at about 10 p.m. Wednesday to report a lot of heavy smoke in the vicinity of West Park Street and Kinsman Road.
Firefighters went to the front of the fire station a block away, saw the smoke and raced to get an engine to the blaze, he said.
“When we got there, we couldn’t tell if it was Fat Daddy’s or JC’s,” Sestak said, referring to the two popular restaurants that are neighbors.
When the firefighters arrived, they found Fat Daddy of Burton, 14608 West Park, was fully involved.
They went through the front door and started pumping water, but the fire was hard to put out and Sestak said firefighters were on site until about 2:30 a.m.
“That building has been modified so many times — we had two ceilings to break through,” he said, adding the restaurant is attached to Burton Commons and those offices incurred some light smoke damage.
By 3:30 a.m., crews had secured the building and Ohio Fire Investigation Unit personnel arrived Thursday morning to go through the ruins. Sestak estimated the building was about 75% damaged by fire or smoke, but he added it is up to OFIU to determine the cause of the fire and value.
Sestak said it is common to call the unit in because of the expense of repairing or replacing buildings now.
He said he and his grandchildren had eaten dinner there Thursday evening. Fat Daddy’s parking lot was full around 8 p.m.
The restaurant is owned by Belle S. 2015 Properties LLC and sets on about 0.2 acres. The Geauga County Auditor’s Office estimates its value at $198,000.
