Lake Place Restaurant Fire

[Curtis]

Drove by this morning and saw that Lake Place had burned. Does anyone know what happened?


Curtis

[Curtis]

Lake Place

[scrltbegonya]

How SAD! My roommate works there and is devestated...From what I understand, it was electrical. Someone reported smelling smoke around 2:30 am...

The restaurant was also to be closed for the next eleven days for repairs...Looks like eleven days will not be enough.

[kurt]

That is very sad - what a great place it was.


Curtis -I've seen your sign for your building lot on 30-A. I assume you are building a gallery. When will it be open?

[Curtis]

Kurt-

Hey, I should be finishing up with the last of the permitting,etc. in the next couple of weeks and hope to get started at that point. Completion date will of course depend on how the construction end of things go. I'm excited about having the oppurtunity to open an art gallery here. I have met some really nice people along the way so far.

Thanks,

Curtis

[Smiling JOe]

WTF?
Lake Place receives high marks on the food and service. I cannot believe that it burned. When I first saw that photo, I knew it was a joke. Unfortunately, it is very real.

[Landlocked]

What lake is lake place on?

[katie blue]

Oyster Lake, I believe.

[Franny]

Unbelieable..how sad. Last year we lost Nick's and now the Lake Place.

[Kimmifunn]

And the Wheel House...

[Miss Kitty]

So sad!!! When I saw the title, I first thought it was one of those new developments going up, not the restaurant. I am with LL...makes you want to get all the wiring checked down there!

[Paula]

That's a scary thought for sure. It must be devastating to lose one's restaurant, people's jobs, etc., in a fire. My family had a small luncheonette when I was growing up and I can't imagine how horrible it would feel to lose one's business, even with insurance. The only good thing one could say in this kind of situation is that at least nobody was physically harmed. (I hope that's the case.)

[scrltbegonya]

And Cafe Spiazzia burned, too...

[Sea Star]

When did Cafe Spiazzia burn?? I didn't know about that one.

[kurt]

When did Cafe Spiazzia burn?? I didn't know about that one.

I think it was last fall? It's already remodeled and open for some time now.

[beachmouse]

Also Back Porch in Destin a couple years ago. Fire did something like $200K worth of damage, but they managed to get reopened in a month or so.

Damon's in Ft. Walton Beach- somewhat weird circumstances right after Hurricane George.

That pizza and a movie second run theater on Eglin Parkway in FWB about the same time as Damon's.

[steele mama]

This is sooo sad. We have very good friends who worked at The Lake Place. What an awesome restaurant. I hope they are indeed able to rebuild and reopen. Great chef! Great food!

[pk305]

OH no!!! How horrible!! This is one of our very favorite places!
God Bless those folks who work there....just the best!

We spent one of the most delightful evenings there on 12/30. Hoping and praying for a good rebound for The Lake Place & all it's folks!

Thanks for the photo.

[olive]

This is unbelievably sad! Lake Place is one of our favorite restaurants. Great food and even better staff. I sincerely hope that they are able to rebuild ASAP. Our hearts go out to them.

[bluemtnfriend]

My husband and I were doing the move in thing at Bella Vita and were on our way back to Bed Bath & Beyond and decided to grab a bite at the " fishing camp" looking place on 30 A. We were dressed in short and tee's, a little sweaty and very tired.
Walked in, spotted the white linen cloths, and went 'Oh no, we're not dressed for this place". Courtney, who became one of our favorite server's told us to come on in "you're fine". We've since enjoyed many wonderful meals and wish all the best to the staff and owner.

[ShallowsNole]

Oh my goodness. This is very sad.

[Jenn Boyd]

I'm very sorry to hear the news about the Lake Place. My heart goes out to Jim and his staff members for their loss. Our community is definitely feeling the loss of this great little treasure of a restaurant. Thanks for some of the best meals and most memorable evenings I've had since living in Florida.

[Landlocked]

I'm very sorry to hear the news about the Lake Place. My heart goes out to Jim and his staff members for their loss. Our community is definitely feeling the loss of this great little treasure of a restaurant. Thanks for some of the best meals and most memorable evenings I've had since living in Florida.

[Miss Kitty]

I keep hoping to hear some news about rebuilding here. Has anyone heard some encouraging words?

[JB]

Wow. First Nick's, then the Wheelhouse, now Lake Place. Considering the number of restaurants along 30-A, this is a pretty significant percentage that have been total losses due to fire.

If I were Oli Petit, I would be installing sprinkler systems yesterday.

[skippertoo]

JENN

We liked the Lake Place too. Hope it makes a comeback

Skip

[SoWalSally]

From Walton Sun

Red and orange flames stretched into the black night sky above The Lake Place restaurant as it was all but destroyed by a fire early Wednesday morning.
When emergency crews arrived at one of South Walton's most recognizable restaurants the fire had eaten through most of the building and the inferno was shooting approximately 30 feet in the air, according to neighbor Ed Goodwin.
The fire was reported at 2:35 a.m. Fire crews arrived at 5960 County Road 30A three minutes later and found the structure was fully ablaze, said District Chief Marc Anderson of the South Walton Fire District.
Fire Marshal Sammy Sanchez said the cause of the fire was electrical.
"We had the fire knocked down in 15 minutes and extinguished in an hour and a half," SWFD Deputy Chief Sean Hughes said.
When a fire is knocked down it means the main visible flames are out, Hughes said.
"Fires like that in the middle of the night usually get ahead start on us so by the time we get there it's pretty involved," Anderson said.
Owner Jim Richard said he has to look at his insurance coverage before he decides whether to rebuild.
By the time Goodwin grabbed his camera and ran over to the restaurant in the middle of night it was engulfed in flames.
"We lost another landmark," Goodwin said. "We lost two in the storms and now this one."
SWFD had two engines, two trucks, one squad and a rescue team at the fire. A total of 18 SWFD personal took part.
The roof was compromised during the blaze but did not collapse. SWFD took a defensive approach and fought the fire from the outside only because no one was inside.
"We didn't want to risk personal going inside with the roof weakened," Hughes said.
"The guys did an excellent job to put out that big of a fire in a short time."

[scrltbegonya]

I was told he will rebuild! YAY!

[Miss Kitty]

I was told he will rebuild! YAY!

Oh, thank you....I so hope this is true!!!!

[groveral]

does anyone have any info on Lake Place? Will they reopen soon? Thanks, coming down in a couple of weeks---and hoping!

[FoX]

[ame="http://www.sowal.com/bb/showthread.php?t=3173"]http://www.sowal.com/bb/showthread.php?t=3173[/ame]

Not likely that soon.

[Smiling JOe]

Recently, I spoke with one of the eight people who worked there, and he informed me that they were going to reopen. The owner will more than likely have to pitch in additional money to the insurance money to get it going. In a normal world, it would be unlikely that you would see it reopened by July '06, but you never know. When Lake Place does reopen, we all should remember tol go there and show our support and gratitude for the hard work that will be needed to get it back up and running.

[scrltbegonya]

From what I understand, Jim will be running the Harbour Grille until Lake Place reopens. I wish him the best of luck - and my roomie is thrilled - she has a job!!!!!! Go support them there - the Old Harry T's!

[bluemtnfriend]

But whine, whine, what we loved was that Lake Place was right there on 30A and we didn't have to cope with the Sandestin or Destin &**(%$& traffic.

[FoX]

But whine, whine, what we loved was that Lake Place was right there on 30A and we didn't have to cope with the Sandestin or Destin &**(%$& traffic.

Lakeplace aside, there are a lot of good restaurants on 30-A. Why would you need to go to Sandestin/Destin?

[bluemtnfriend]

My husband is the type who only wants to eat at some place familiar, no surprises, no crowds, no long waits. He likes Elmos and Pandoras and that's about it. Got any suggestions?

[FoX]

My husband is the type who only wants to eat at some place familiar, no surprises, no crowds, no long waits. He likes Elmos and Pandoras and that's about it. Got any suggestions?

[ame="http://www.sowal.com/bb/showthread.php?t=205"]http://www.sowal.com/bb/showthread.php?t=205[/ame]

[peapod1980]

When Lake Place does reopen, we all should remember tol go there and show our support and gratitude for the hard work that will be needed to get it back up and running.

Oh, no, here we go again...
SJ starts another fight.

[Tupelo Honey]

So what is the status of Lake Place right now? Anyone?

[SGB]

So what is the status of Lake Place right now? Anyone?

There's the sign and a flat empty lot.

[Hop]

So what is the status of Lake Place right now? Anyone?

it's my understanding that according to the codes, he has to use exactly the same footprint and have the same square footage...so it's kind of a logistical thing now...to make the most of the new design.

[kurt]

Plans are complete and they are getting bids from builders.