Fire damages, temporarily closes Buffalo Grove restaurant

Fire broke out Sunday night at Dengeos restaurant in Buffalo Grove, damaging a pair of washrooms and leaving the popular eatery temporarily closed.

Buffalo Grove firefighters were called to the restaurant, 195 W. Dundee Road, at 9:13 p.m. for a report of smoke in the building, officials said. No customers were in the restaurant at the time, and all employees evacuated safely.

Investigators later determined the fire began in an area outside the building then spread to the restaurant's interior, Public Information Officer John Gilleran said. The6 cause appears to be the disposal of smoking materials in the exterior area.

"Employees told our investigators they had extinguished, or thought they had extinguished, a fire in the same area earlier in the evening," Gilleran said.

Buffalo Grove firefighters, with assistance from Arlington Heights fire crews, brought hose lines into the building to extinguish the fire and had it under control by 9:56 p.m., officials said. Other fire crews opened a portion of the roof to ventilate the smoke and heat.

Officials said the restaurant's bathrooms were heavily damaged and the establishment would remain closed until it is inspected by a village inspector.

Owner Louis Atsaves said Monday morning a contractor would be repairing the washrooms. The restaurant reopened later in the day.

A cost estimate of the damage was not available Monday, Gilleran said.