A kitchen fire at Village Pizza & Grill resulted in the evacuation and temporary shutdown of the downtown Davis restaurant Tuesday.
Davis fire crews were summoned to reports of smoke in the kitchen area of the 403 G St. restaurant shortly after 1 p.m., said Bruce Fry, division chief for the Davis Fire Department. Employees and customers were evacuated from the building as firefighters investigated the source of the smoke, which was traced to the subfloor underneath a cooking appliance.
“What they found was heavy damage to the structural part of the building,” Fry said. Investigators are looking into several possible sources of the fire, which did not appear to be either suspicious or electrical in nature.
Both the owner of the restaurant and a private contractor performing work at the restaurant reported smoke inhalation at the scene, and the contractor sought his own medical aid, according to Fry.
Damage from the fire was estimated at about $8,000, depending on the extent of the repairs required and whether any kitchen appliances will require replacement, Fry said.
The restaurant was shut down for the remainder of the day Tuesday. An employee who answered the phone that afternoon said the owner hoped to be able to resume serving pizzas, salads and cold sandwiches by Wednesday night, with grill service up and running later in the week.
