Image: The Huddle House sign: “TEMPORARILY CLOSED”
Huddle House franchise owner Rance Reese stands in a shallow pool of dirty grey water as he surveys the fire damage to his business, “We got hit pretty hard as you can see over here.” Everything in the area surrounding the grill is singed, the metal of the venting hood is warped and blackened.
Reese says when the cook arrived to open up the Clarkesville restaurant shortly before 5am Wednesday, she saw a flame shooting up from behind the grill and deployed the building’s Ansul fire suppression system. Nozzles installed above the cooking area shot jets of liquid fire suppressant onto the grill and other appliances but it wasn’t enough.
“She triggered the (Ansul) system and says the flame went down, but then came right back up.” Reese says that makes him believe the fire was somehow feeding off the gas line although the exact cause is yet to be determined.
When Clarkesville Fire Fighters arrived a short time later, the flames were shooting through the roof. They managed to put it out quickly according to Reese but he says all of the building’s electrical systems, housed in a room behind the grill, are likely gone. The Washington Street restaurant will be closed for the foreseeable future.
Closing down is a heavy blow for Reese who, along with his wife, bought the Clarkesville Huddle House in 2006. They’ve remodeled most of building, “We added the stacked stone on the outside, repainted the building, redid the bathrooms and, in the back of the house, we added a walk-in freezer and enlarged the prep area.”
While seeing his business damaged is tough, the most difficult part for Reese came after the fire was out when the Huddle House regulars started to stop in. “Our customers are like family here. It’s so sad to see them pull up in the parking lot,” there’s a hitch in his voice. As he turns away, you can see the stress of the morning settle in and weigh him down.
After a moment he continues, “You wouldn’t believe how many times customers come in with gifts for the servers and the cooks. We have one lady, Mrs. Paul; she’s here every day and tips out everybody in here even though we tell her not to do it. She says ‘I’m taking care of my family.’ We’re all like family.”
At this point Reese doesn’t know exactly how much is damaged or how long it will take to make repairs but he says he plans to reopen just as soon as he possibly can.
