A popular Hubbard restaurant and hangout went up in smoke Tuesday afternoon after officials said grease in the kitchen may have sparked a fire.
Many people in Hubbard still call it Longo's, but it's been Frankie's Main Street Cafe for at least the last decade. And now its owners are faced with the long, expensive task of rebuilding their bar and restaurant after the inside was completely gutted by fire.
"I was the first one here, flames were coming through the roof," said Hubbard Fire Chief John Clemente.
Clemente said hot grease on the grill and fryers at Frankie's Main Street Cafe started a fire that quickly spread through the kitchen around 3 p.m. Witnesses working at Auto Zone, across West Park Avenue, also saw smoke and flames shooting from the roof of the restaurant.
"I was ringing a customer out, and I looked across the street and seen the black smoke coming out the top of the roof, and I asked my employee, I said, 'does that look normal?' and he said 'no, it doesn't look normal'," Tammy Sheely said.
The fire chief said one of the cooks went to the hospital for smoke inhalation. No one else inside at the time got hurt but it's too soon to know the total extent of the damage.
"The kitchen's going to have to be completely rebuilt, there's a lot of work there, a lot of smoke damage, there's apartments upstairs got some smoke....we're talking probably six-figures," Clemente said.
The owner of Frankie's, Tim Hopkinson, said any events already booked for their banquet room will go on as scheduled, right across the street, at St. Patrick Church. This is one of Frankie's busiest times of the year, with graduation parties and weddings booking their banquet room and catering service.
Sheely said Frankie's was always a very popular spot in downtown Hubbard.
"Our parking lot gets overfill, they get very busy, so when they get busy, their parking lot gets filled up for them, and we have no problems with it. But that's because their food is that good," Sheely said.
Dominion workers shut off the gas line to the restaurant. And the owner talked with the chief and insurance agents to see what it will take to reopen for business.
Firefighters from the Eagle Joint Fire District, Farrell, Shenango Township and West Middlesex departments helped fight the blaze. The road was shut down for a while until the gas line was shut off.
Cleaning Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems Since 1971
5734 Bankfield Avenue
Culver City, California 90230
310-636-8361 x 203
Grant Mogford
Many people in Hubbard still call it Longo's, but it's been Frankie's Main Street Cafe for at least the last decade. And now its owners are faced with the long, expensive task of rebuilding their bar and restaurant after the inside was completely gutted by fire.
"I was the first one here, flames were coming through the roof," said Hubbard Fire Chief John Clemente.
Clemente said hot grease on the grill and fryers at Frankie's Main Street Cafe started a fire that quickly spread through the kitchen around 3 p.m. Witnesses working at Auto Zone, across West Park Avenue, also saw smoke and flames shooting from the roof of the restaurant.
"I was ringing a customer out, and I looked across the street and seen the black smoke coming out the top of the roof, and I asked my employee, I said, 'does that look normal?' and he said 'no, it doesn't look normal'," Tammy Sheely said.
The fire chief said one of the cooks went to the hospital for smoke inhalation. No one else inside at the time got hurt but it's too soon to know the total extent of the damage.
"The kitchen's going to have to be completely rebuilt, there's a lot of work there, a lot of smoke damage, there's apartments upstairs got some smoke....we're talking probably six-figures," Clemente said.
The owner of Frankie's, Tim Hopkinson, said any events already booked for their banquet room will go on as scheduled, right across the street, at St. Patrick Church. This is one of Frankie's busiest times of the year, with graduation parties and weddings booking their banquet room and catering service.
Sheely said Frankie's was always a very popular spot in downtown Hubbard.
"Our parking lot gets overfill, they get very busy, so when they get busy, their parking lot gets filled up for them, and we have no problems with it. But that's because their food is that good," Sheely said.
Dominion workers shut off the gas line to the restaurant. And the owner talked with the chief and insurance agents to see what it will take to reopen for business.
Firefighters from the Eagle Joint Fire District, Farrell, Shenango Township and West Middlesex departments helped fight the blaze. The road was shut down for a while until the gas line was shut off.
Cleaning Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems Since 1971
5734 Bankfield Avenue
Culver City, California 90230
310-636-8361 x 203
Grant Mogford
