The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Fired Up: Casa Casa co-owner Meg Yeargain (in back) and niece Christina Biagini-Kirk set up a display prior to last week's re-opening of the store, which was closed for seven weeks due to fire damage.

Casa Casa reopens its doors 7 weeks after electrical fire

By Christine Frey

Store owners Nancy Biagini and Meg Yeargain are back home at Casa Casa. They've hung their picture frames, plumped their pillows and set their tables. And on Friday, they re-opened their Lincoln Avenue store, just seven weeks after it caught fire.

"We're just happy we can put this behind us," Biagini said. The May 31 electrical fire forced the two owners to close the store to replace damaged inventory and remodel the interior. However, now there are no signs of the blaze.

Inside the store, black ceiling fans create a breeze and slightly shake the fronds of two towering palm trees. Matching palm-tree wallpaper and gold and green paint accentuate the tropical look of the room, which was enlarged by 500 square feet.

While the store's remodeling is its first since it opened in 1992, the look is not entirely new. The hand-painted floor, which was created six years ago, remains in the front entryway as a reminder of the store's beginning.

Now that Biagini and Yeargain have settled in, many members of the community are visiting. More than 30 people attended Friday's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Manuel Barragan, the baker at the neighboring Le Boulanger who notified the fire department of the store blaze, had the honor of cutting the multicolored ribbon from the front doors. "He will forever be our hero," Biagini told the crowd.

Barragan is more modest. After the ceremony he said he did not consider himself to be exceptionally brave; he was just happy to have prevented the fire from spreading to other stores. However, while receiving handshakes from Casa Casa's customers, he admitted that he liked the attention.

Casa Casa owners were pleased with the attention their store was receiving as well. "We hope the future will be as bright as it's been for the last five years," Biagini said.

The shop was exceptionally busy Friday morning with customers like Willow Glen resident Michele McEnvoy. McEnvoy usually buys all of her gifts at Casa Casa but was unable to do so during its closure. "I felt lost with out it," she said, clearly ecstatic about its re-opening.

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