The Willow Glen Resident

Grease fire interrupts restaurant patrons' dinners

But at least they got a free meal, and furniture and supplies were safe

By Cecily Barnes

A grease fire at Willow Glen's newest restaurant, the Weeping Willow, caused patrons to leave half-full plates of food and evacuate April 15. No one was injured, and everyone left having had at least part of a free meal.

At about 7 p.m. on Wednesday, six San Jose Fire Department trucks responded to a 911 call about a restaurant grease fire. The fire was squelched easily with a CO2 extinguisher, said fire engineer Mitchell Wisinski from Station No. 6.

"More or less it was a grease fire," Wisinski said. "They thought they had a gas leak, but PG&E came on the scene and said they didn't have a leak."

Still, manager Aaron Robinson closed the restaurant for the evening and the following two days to have the cause of the fire checked out.

"I'm not going to open back up until I know for sure what caused it, but the chef is down there right now meeting with people and making sure everything is safe," said owner Susanne Robinson. "It was either something inside the wall or with the stove. Nobody knows what caused it, but it will be taken care of."

Fortunately, the fire did not consume any of the restaurant's furniture or supplies. Wednesday night was only the Weeping Willow's third night of operation. Although Robinson planned to open on April 6, preparations delayed the opening until Saturday, April 11.

"There was just so much to be done," she said.

However, the setback is temporary, and Robinson says she doesn't think the incident will hurt business at all. Business, in fact, has been excellent, she said.

"Aaron was booking a party when the fire happened," Robinson said.

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