Salerno’s plans to reopen soon
Joe Salerno made one thing perfectly clear.
“We are not burned to a crisp,” he said Thursday as he and co-owner Adam Salerno, his father, worked on cleaning up following Wednesday night’s fire at Salerno’s on the Fox in St. Charles.
He hopes to be serving bracciole, chicken a la Salerno and the restaurant’s highly-regarded pizza in a few days at 320 N. Second St.
That’s good news to St. Charles Mayor Don DeWitte.
“Adam Salerno has been at the front door welcoming anyone as long as I can remember,” said DeWitte, noting the restaurant opened shortly after the mayor graduated from St. Charles High School.
“I think that bodes well for his commitment to the community. ... They are as anxious to get back in business as their clients are to enjoy his cooking.”
Meanwhile, St. Charles fire officials Thursday continued to investigate why the natural-gas line caught on fire near the meter outside the restaurant, which is situated along the Fox River just north of the downtown area.
“It wasn’t from a food warmer,” Joe Salerno said.
The flame damage was mostly confined to the northern exterior of the brick building near the gas meter, although flames did start spreading to the kitchen, according to the fire department. The rest of the building has some water and roof damage. Fire officials estimated the cost of the damage to the building and belongings at $450,000.
The fire started about 5:30 p.m. and burned until about 9 p.m. The fire department had flames under control in about 30 minutes, but had to wait for Nicor to dig a hole and shut off the gas at the main before they could fully extinguish it.
It didn’t take the Salernos long to begin the road back.
A disaster cleanup crew from First Priority DKI in South Elgin pulled out furniture, ceiling tiles and other furnishings starting at 11 p.m. Wednesday. Restaurant workers were also helping with the cleanup on Thursday.
Joe Salerno was in the restaurant when the fire began and was the first to notice something was wrong when he saw black smoke rolling past a window. There were 15 employees and 34 customers in the 35-year-old restaurant. All escaped safely and without injury.
The restaurant’s patio was not damaged, and was not due to open for another two weeks, Salerno said.
Adam Salerno opened the restaurant in 1976, an offshoot of a restaurant the family had in Berwyn.