ThisWeek CW (Web Edition) 12/5/2014
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2014/12/05/canal-winchester-fire-damages-wigwam-restaurant-other-businesses.html
A fire in Canal Winchester on Friday, Dec. 5, heavily damaged the Canal Wigwam restaurant, 2 S. High St., and produced smoke damage in several other businesses.
Mayor Michael Ebert said that besides the corner buildings which house Rex’s Barbershop and Cyndi Lynch Retirement Advisors, the Chase Bank building and Village Wines are also dealing with smoke damage.
“There’s the whole block worth of buildings that have fans set up and other things to try and get rid of the smoke,” Ebert said. “We have to move the children’s games out of the Chase Bank for the weekend’s Christmas in the Village events as well as move the Gingerbread House contest out of Cyndi’s business.”
Barber Museum Executive Director Mike Ippoliti said an electrical fire started just before 8 a.m. today, Dec. 5, in the ceiling of the Canal Wigwam, near the restrooms. It spread along the ceiling of the restaurant, causing extensive damage, before firefighters could put it out. The museum, which suffered extensive smoke damage, is located just above the restaurant.
“I was in the process of setting up the model train displays for Christmas in the Village at about 8 this morning when I saw the fire trucks arriving,” Ippoliti said. “Fortunately, there’s no fire or water damage to the museum pieces, but we’ll have to move everything out and have it all cleaned and clean out the space before we can even think about reopening.”
Ebert said he expects the city will put out donation buckets for the affected employees as well.
“This couldn’t come at a worse time, just before Christmas, and I know for many of those employees, these are their only jobs,” he said. “They’re going to need our help. We’ll definitely have some donation buckets out, but it’s going to take more than that, I think.”
On Facebook, many residents and business owners spent the day posting pictures and commiserating over the loss.
Amy York, of the York Law Firm, 5 S. High St., wrote, “My heart goes out to the business owners, many of whom are friends. Our downtown is small and Mayberry-ish, and the loss (hopefully only temporarily) of these attractions and smiling faces affects us all.”
Check back with ThisWeekNEWS.com for updates and see the Dec. 11 edition of ThisWeek Canal Winchester News for more information.