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Dozens of firefighters from the Redwood City Fire Department, equipped with two ladder trucks, responded to a two-alarm fire at the Mediterranean restaurant Mazra on Broadway on Tuesday evening around 8 p.m.
The restaurant, located at 2021 Broadway adjacent to Zareen’s Restaurant, was evacuated, and no one was injured.
“This is terrible. We have 48 employees and we are a tight group. I mean, they are like family, we are literally with these people 50-60 hours a week. It feels very odd and we just don’t know what is going to happen next. I think that is why [the restaurant staff] is still here,” said restaurant co-owner Saif Makableh.
Restaurant staff members stayed well past the scheduled closing of 9 p.m. and comforted each other as they watched the fire department examine the building.
The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Redwood City Fire Department.
“Charcoal from the indoor charcoal grill leaked somewhere in a combustible area where it should not have gone,” said Makableh.
Redwood City Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Cottle said the fire that gutted Mazra’s kitchen wasn’t massive, “but because the building is somewhat old, it was able to travel in a lot of nooks and crannies.
“That means in order to get the fire out, firefighters need to destroy a lot of panels and that causes a lot of mess. It is still better than letting the fire burn,” he added.
Makableh said he hopes to reopen the restaurant in four to six weeks.
“The damage is going to take no more than a week, but we will have to go through permits and processes,” he said.
The restaurant has one other location in San Bruno, which is temporarily closed due to renovations to match the charcoal grill set up at the Redwood City location.
Mazra was founded by brothers Jordan and Saif Makableh, who wanted to turn their father’s struggling grocery store in San Bruno into a restaurant. Within a year of opening, the restaurant earned the second spot in Yelp’s nationwide Top 100 Places to Eat.
The Redwood City location opened in April after being delayed for months due to fire regulations surrounding the restaurant’s critically acclaimed grill.
“The 14-foot grill uses solid fuel, mesquite, and because of that the restaurant needs to adhere to different fire safety regulations and environmental laws than it would for gas appliances,” said Makableh in March.
“We thought what we did was enough but there are extra measures that we now know we have to take,” Makableh said after talking with investigators.
“It’s funny because we had planned on installing this firebox to protect our cooks from the heat, and the plans were just approved on June 6. I just showed it to the fire inspector, and that would have prevented the cavity from catching fire.
“I guess we’re too late,” Makableh added.
3-5 weeks for permitting? Come in Redwood City, let’s help these (and other SMBs) out!