Steakhouse fire 'suspicious;' owner plans to rebuild

Fox River Grove authorities say a Sunday morning fire that burned the Five O'Clock Steakhouse to the ground is suspicious, but are stopping short of calling it arson.

"We're done working out there, the evidence has been collected and now the Fox River Grove police and the office of the State Fire Marshal are continuing their investigation,"Fox River Grove Fire Chief Bob Kreher said.

Meanwhile, co-owner Jimmy Giannakouras plans to rebuild the eatery once the insurance investigation concludes.

"If everything goes good, by Christmas or by January, we may be able to open again," Giannakouras said.

The manner in which the fire spread - from the north dining room to the roof - combined with physical evidence collected from the scene have led police to call it a suspicious fire, said Police Chief Ron Lukasik.

That evidence, which Lukasik said he could not discuss, will be sent to the fire marshal's crime lab. He expects the results within six months.

"It's pretty backlogged," he said.

Fire River Grove firefighters responded to the restaurant at 1050 Northwest Highway at 3:35 a.m. Sunday to find flames already shooting through the roof.

Nobody was injured in the fire.

Personnel from the Cary, Crystal Lake, Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, Barrington, Lake Zurich, Lakewood, McHenry, Nunda, Palatine Rural and Wauconda fire departments assisted in putting out the blaze.

The Five O'Clock Steakhouse had been in Fox River Grove since 2006.

Anyone with information about the fire should call police at (847) 639-2411, Cary Area Crime Stoppers at (800) 762-STOP, or the Illinois State Fire Marshal at (217) 782-9116.