The iconic pavilion on the northeast side of Lake Calhoun/Bde Maka Ska was heavily damaged by fire early Thursday and investigators were spending the day trying to find out what sparked the blaze.
Neighbors saw flames shooting from the building that houses the popular Lola on the Lake restaurant about 4 a.m. and called firefighters to the scene. Crews were able to put out the raging blaze in about 20 minutes, but by then the metal roof on the concrete structure at 3000 E. Lake Calhoun Parkway had collapsed, said Minneapolis Fire Department spokesman Bryan Tyner.
Hours after the fire, the smell of smoke hung in the air and the building operated by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board appeared to "be a total loss," Tyner said.
The area around the building was taped off as investigators began sifting through the charred debris to try to discover the cause.
"We are simply devastated," a statement posted on Lola on the Lake's Facebook page said. "We are grateful for no injuries and we look forward to rebuilding."
Fire officials say lightning might have sparked the fire. There were thunderstorms in the area at the time.
Athena Priest, who along with her husband, Sheff, ran the Tin Fish restaurant in the building for 14 years before ending their lease in 2017, said it was tough to see the damage.
"I'm shocked. I'm sad," Priest said while looking at the melted ruins. "We loved the place and it loved us back. This is the city's patio. It's sad for the city. It lost a good thing."
Priest, who was in tears Thursday morning, said she and her husband opened Tin Fish after looking at the forlorn building and thought it "was a shame that people didn't come to it." She wondered if people would come there to eat.
They did. Over the 14 years they were open, thousands came to nosh and sit by the lake. For others, particularly young workers, it was their first job.
"We raised families in that place," Priest said, referring to the young workers. "This feels like home. It was their home, too. It's gone. It is totaled. It's sad."
The season after Tin Fish closed, a new eatery, Lola on the Lake, opened. The restaurant, operated by Louis King, offers seafood, baby back ribs, rib tips, smoked mac-and-cheese and several versions of chicken wings, beverages and frozen treats. The eatery had just opened for the 2019 season a two weeks ago.
City engineers were on the scene to assess the structural condition of the building, Tyner said.
The pavilion has been a fixture at the corner of E. Lake Calhoun Parkway and Lake Street since it was built in 1930. The original structure featured restrooms and a small concession stand that sold refreshments. It was renovated in 1988 and is now one of the most visited places in the Minneapolis parks system, said spokeswoman Dawn Sommers.
"People remember it as the place they came to buy ice cream. It's been a part of people's lives," she said. "We are very shocked and saddened by the fire."
The building suffered extensive damage and it's too early to say what will happen next, Sommers said.
It was not immediately clear if Thursday's fire would impact the park board's boat and kayak rental at the lake.
"Right now we are focused on what we need to do today," Sommers said. That included securing the area and preventing runoff from entering the lake. "We will be making plans to move forward."
Across the circular drive on the south side of the pavilion, it will be business as usual at the Minneapolis Sailing Center. The organization's boat house was without power Thursday due to the fire, but was planning to bring in a generator and portable toilets to remain open, said Executive Director Ted Salzman.
"While we are terribly saddened about our neighbor's fire damage, our facility and equipment was unaffected by the fire," he said.
http://www.startribune.com/fire-damages-pavilion-and-restaurant-at-bde-maka-ska/510005182/ 2019-05-16 14:17:15Z
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