ThisWeek CW 02/05/2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/02/02/wigwam-owner-hopes-for-march-reopening.html
The owner of the Canal Wigwam hopes to be able to reopen his fire-damaged restaurant in March but the future of the National Barber Museum that occupied the second floor of the building at 2 S. High St. isn’t as clear.
An electrical fire at the Canal Wigwam on the morning of Dec. 5 caused extensive smoke damage at the National Barber Museum and lesser damage at other neighboring businesses.
Restaurant owner Mark Savino said while he doesn’t have a firm date for reopening, he is working with an architect and contractors on rebuilding the interior.
“There’s no firm date yet but probably early March,” he said last week. “We’re not going to make any big changes, but all the equipment has to be replaced and the newer pieces might give us a little more space for customers.”
Director Mike Ippoliti is less hopeful about reopening the museum.
“I’m not sure we can even go back in there, so we’re going to have to get the board together and have a serious conversation,” he said.
Ippoliti said contractors removed 350 boxes of materials and another 800 individual items for cleaning and restoration.
“We started the work of removing everything on Jan. 12 with about eight people working long days to get everything safely packed up and removed for cleaning off site,” Ippoliti said. “Now the construction company can get in here to clean and repair the building itself.
“But when they are done, I don’t know if we’ll still be grandfathered in or if everything will have to be brought up to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance. I do know we can’t afford that.”
Meanwhile, Savino said he and his wife are grateful for the outpouring of support from the community, particularly in regard to about $8,000 in donations to his 14 displaced staff members.
“Before the holidays, we held a fundraiser at the community center and easily had over 200 people turn out. We just had to keep pulling out more tables and chairs for them,” Savino said. “The community has really done such a good job of reaching out to our employees who otherwise wouldn’t have had a Christmas. My wife and I are really just so grateful.”
Most of his employees have found other positions, he said, but have told him they want to return to the Wigwam once it reopens.
“I think the majority of the employees plan to return,” Savino said. “It’s hard to leave a place like this because the staff gets to know our customers so well and vice versa. They really take care of each other like family.”