Grant
Administrator
Blue White reopens after fire
By CARA SPAZIANI / Journal Staff Writer
MARTINSBURG — A minor grease fire that closed a Queen Street restaurant for more than two weeks gave management the opportunity to reopen with more than $50,000 in new equipment and an expanded menu.
The fire, which shut down the Blue White Grill after the restaurant closed Dec. 12, began after a member of the kitchen staff increased a grill’s temperature instead of turning it off.
“It was such a minor thing,” said the Blue White Grill’s vice president Bill Brown. “We could have cleaned it up and been open the next day.”
Instead, Brown said he used the fire as an opportunity to close the restaurant until Dec. 29 in order to replace the kitchen’s exhaust system and add new grills and freezers.
Brown also said he replaced the kitchen’s automatic fire extinguishing system from one that emits dry chemicals to one that discharges wet chemicals in order to comply with fire safety codes.
The additional grill space has helped the restaurant increase its productivity, Brown said.
“We were so busy during peak periods, we couldn’t get our food out in a timely manner,” Brown said.
Since reopening, the Blue White Grill has even added items to its menu for the first time in three years. Customers can now choose between grilled salmon, Phillip’s crab cakes and grilled shrimp as lunch and dinner options to supplement the restaurant’s “classic” 6- ounce hamburger, Brown said.
“We showed a sales increase in the first full week we were open and we’re continuing to grow,” Brown said.
Since opening at its 101 N. Queen St. location in 1945, the restaurant has never experienced a kitchen fire that has shut down its operation other than the blaze in December. A fire that occurred in early January 2004 in apartments above the restaurant did close the establishment for four weeks. That fire, which resulted in charges of arson against a former tenant, caused about $250,000 in damages.
Brown said he credits city of Martinsburg employees and the Martinsburg Fire Department for his restaurant’s successful reopening.
“The city of Martinsburg was awesome,” Brown said. “They were just very, very helpful.”
By CARA SPAZIANI / Journal Staff Writer
MARTINSBURG — A minor grease fire that closed a Queen Street restaurant for more than two weeks gave management the opportunity to reopen with more than $50,000 in new equipment and an expanded menu.
The fire, which shut down the Blue White Grill after the restaurant closed Dec. 12, began after a member of the kitchen staff increased a grill’s temperature instead of turning it off.
“It was such a minor thing,” said the Blue White Grill’s vice president Bill Brown. “We could have cleaned it up and been open the next day.”
Instead, Brown said he used the fire as an opportunity to close the restaurant until Dec. 29 in order to replace the kitchen’s exhaust system and add new grills and freezers.
Brown also said he replaced the kitchen’s automatic fire extinguishing system from one that emits dry chemicals to one that discharges wet chemicals in order to comply with fire safety codes.
The additional grill space has helped the restaurant increase its productivity, Brown said.
“We were so busy during peak periods, we couldn’t get our food out in a timely manner,” Brown said.
Since reopening, the Blue White Grill has even added items to its menu for the first time in three years. Customers can now choose between grilled salmon, Phillip’s crab cakes and grilled shrimp as lunch and dinner options to supplement the restaurant’s “classic” 6- ounce hamburger, Brown said.
“We showed a sales increase in the first full week we were open and we’re continuing to grow,” Brown said.
Since opening at its 101 N. Queen St. location in 1945, the restaurant has never experienced a kitchen fire that has shut down its operation other than the blaze in December. A fire that occurred in early January 2004 in apartments above the restaurant did close the establishment for four weeks. That fire, which resulted in charges of arson against a former tenant, caused about $250,000 in damages.
Brown said he credits city of Martinsburg employees and the Martinsburg Fire Department for his restaurant’s successful reopening.
“The city of Martinsburg was awesome,” Brown said. “They were just very, very helpful.”
