CORNELIA, Ga. – Officials are working to determine what caused a fire at Casa Bariachi Mexican Grill on Friday morning. The popular Cornelia restaurant is closed for the foreseeable future as cleanup and repairs begin.
Quick response to morning fire
Habersham E-911 dispatched firefighters to a commercial fire at 107 Market Centre Drive off U.S. 441 Business around 9:06 a.m. on October 24. Callers reported seeing smoke coming from the building.
Cornelia Fire Chief Billy Joe Jenkins said the first units arrived within two minutes and quickly began working to contain the blaze, which was initially reported as a kitchen fire.
“When we arrived on scene, we had smoke coming out of the front door and, of course, the vents. The fire was actually not in the kitchen; it was just outside the kitchen area,” he said Friday afternoon.
Firefighters had to remove an interior wall to get to the fire. Jenkins said the fire was contained to the bar area.
“Not really extensive damage as far as fire,” he added, “but we did have smoke damage in that area.”
Damage and investigation
It took crews approximately 30 minutes to fully contain the fire. The restaurant sustained heavy smoke and water damage, and the adjoining units in the strip mall where it is located were also affected by smoke.
According to property records, the building was built in 1995. Due to its age, Jenkins said there are no firewalls in the ceiling, which allowed smoke to travel into the other units.
Firefighters remained on scene through early afternoon using fans to ventilate the building and monitoring for hot spots.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office was on site investigating the cause.
Restaurant remains closed
Jenkins said he has “no idea” how long Casa Bariachi will remain closed, but added, “We will try to get them back open as soon as we can.”
No injuries were reported, and all fire personnel have since been released from the scene. Jenkins thanked the fire departments from Baldwin, Demorest, and Habersham County for their help.
