MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — A early morning fire in Menchalville leaves a historic business in ruins.
- A fire on Friday morning left a Menchalville community staple in ruins
- After being closed for a few years, the owner told me they were set for the grand reopening on February 1st
- The owner does not know what the plans are now
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
It was once a community staple, now the old supper club in Menchalville lies in ruins after an early-morning fire. Although the restaurant was closed for a few years, a reopening was right around the corner. Now, locals are left picking up the pieces.
"I took my mom there quite a few times just to have some good memories and all that before she had passed on,” said local Randy Grimm.
Memories that were made in the tiny town that has now, lost a beloved gathering spot.
"A lot of sad times, it's going to be some sad memories of it,” said Grimm. “Used to be good memories, now it's going to be sad memories."
After a change in ownership, the club shut down a few years ago, but was set to re-open in just over a week.
I spoke with the building's current owner, he told me he even had a liquor license meeting scheduled for Monday.
“We put so much time and effort into it, and it burned in seconds,” he told me.
Menchalville Fire Captain Adam Cohen says the fire is still under investigation with no cause determined yet, but one thing is for certain, it was a big blaze.
"There was ten different departments hauling in water from three different fill sites, with the cold temperatures, just making sure we could supply the three engines,” Captain Cohen said.
"I remember going there with my parents,” local Jackson Stetson recalls. “We'd always go there for Saturday food."
As a neighbor next door, Stetson watched the supper club go from bustling to burning. He says he even stepped up to help the fire crews Friday morning.
"It's been closed for a bit,” Stetson said. “It would've been nice to see someone get it up and running again. That's a little different now."
The owner told me that had everything gone smoothly in the liquor license meeting on Monday, the grand reopening would have been on the first of February.
Now, he's not sure what's in store for the future of the location.
