MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — A soon-to-be restaurant owner returns to his burned down building.
- Omar Zaragoza was planning on opening his Menchalville resturaurant on Febraury 1st
- After the building burnt down two weeks ago, he is returning to his beloved place for the first time
- Omar told me that he plans to rebuild the restaurant no matter how long it takes
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
A determined businessman returns for the first time, to what was supposed to be his dream opportunity. In Menchalville, a tragedy has derailed, but not ended, one man's big plans.
"We just waxed the floor. We put everything back on the floor, the tables, the chairs, the decorating,” said Omar Zaragoza.
Zaragoza is recalling the day before his new restaurant burned down in a fire, less than two weeks ago.
"So much time and love to a building like this and seeing it's gone overnight, just like that,” he added.
Omar says he'd been fixing up the former supper club, a once-well known spot in the area at Menchalville Road and County Road K. Omar says he and his partner, Jason Demerath, were a week from opening when they got a call on January 24th.
The fire leveled the building and Omar says investigators told them a heating appliance was to blame.
"I thought he was joking,” Demerath recalled. “I thought he was kidding when he told me there was a fire. I started laughing at him."
"To this day, I still think it's a nightmare,” Omar said. “To this day I still think I'm going to wake up and think, 'Oh that was a really bad nightmare’,".
I met Omar and Jason at the location, their first time back nearly two weeks since the day of the fire. Omar says it's hard to quite know how to move forward but they still believe in the location and the potential.
"With the help of the community, friends, family, little by little.” he said. “I'm a dreamer. I think we can make it happen.
Omar told me it may take a year or even 10, but he plans to build back. That starts with cleanup every weekend from now to achieve his dream.
Omar has created a GoFundMe which you can access here.
If you would like to help Omar with the cleanup, his phone number is (920) 384-8699.
