‘Paolo’s Ristorante’
courtesy of ‘john w’
At around 10pm Saturday night, Paolo’s Ristorante on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and N Street NW caught on fire. I happened to be sitting across the street having a drink at Martin’s Tavern, when I noticed black smoke billowing out the back roof of the restaurant; shortly thereafter we saw flames. At the time, Paolo’s was in full swing, packed with diners and DCers prepping for a night out. Two fire engines promptly appeared and the small blaze was adeptly extinguished–it took about an hour or so, for the whole operation to be over. It was very cool to see the DCFD is full action. This included two ladders in operation, hooks pulling down flaming debris, and multiple fire extinguishers. I even spotted a female firefighter. Yeh, chick, represent!
From my vantage point, the fire was not very big and most likely started in the kitchen at the back of the restaurant. It looked to be near some sort of chimey-esque vent. Given the fire’s size and location, and the fast response of the DCFD, I assumed everyone (staff and patrons) got out OK. This conjecture was furthered when I walked by Paolo’s at 1:30am and saw the staff sitting at the restaurant’s bar having drinks and chilling out. When it’s 11pm on a Saturday night and your workplace, which happens to be a bar, closes unexpectedly, what else should you do besides grab a drink, enjoy the weather and hit up the nightlife?
This is not the first time in recent years that Paolo’s has had fire problems. In the spring of 2006, an electrical fire in the offices above Paolo’s caused significant damage and led to a $500,00 remodeling of the restaurant by it’s owners Capital Restaurant Concepts. This is one of the reasons why the stores near Paolo have hired fire watch guard services as the imminent threat of the fire emerging is still not dormant. As of last night, Paolo’s is closed. For how long is TBD.
A born and bred New Yorker, Rebecca made the big trip “down south” to DC in 2006 and hasn’t looked back. She spends her days strategizing/planning/ideating how interactive products can help her clients and change the world. In her free time, she explores DC’s ever expanding bar, restaurant and small business scene, plays a crap ton of soccer, attends concerts that contribute to her sleep deprivation and embarks on local adventures. Read why Rebecca loves DC or follow her on twitter.
Happy to report that all patrons and staff were safely evacuated and the fire was controlled without major damage to the restaurant or surrounding buildings. The owner arrived and commended the efforts of all employees and their timely and efficient response in making sure all guests were safe-to which he bought everyone a round of drinks.While closed for the remainder of the evening, we reopened this morning and business is as usual. Thank you to all those who were dining with us at the time for your patience and continued support given last nights events and we look forward to seeing everyone back at Paolos soon! Elizabeth Scott corporate sales and marketing manager capital restaurant concepts
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