WICHITA — An early morning fire caused $150,000 in smoke damage at Larkspur in Old Town.
“What a bummer,” owner Ty Issa says.
The fire started at a dryer in a storage room behind the kitchen.
Police officers patrolling the area noticed smoke coming from the building at 904 E. Douglas shortly after 12:30 a.m. today.
Firefighters forced entry through the front door and found smoke throughout the building, says Capt. Stuart Bevis.
They discovered a fire in a back room where a dryer had been drying towels.
“The fire was contained to a pretty small area,” Bevis says, but he says there’s substantial smoke damage.
Issa was sleeping at home when he got a call from his alarm company.
“I’ve been up probably all night,” he says.
Still, Issa says, “I’m happy it’s contained to that kind of damage.”
He’s fully covered by insurance — including for lost revenue — but the situation is a huge headache.
“The inconvenience of all this is just like we’re in the construction business,” Issa says.
Larkspur needs mostly cosmetic repairs, which Issa hopes take no longer than a week or 10 days.
“If I can get all these people to work on the weekends, that’s what they’re promising right now.”
There also will be an extensive four-day cleaning.
“So it will be the cleanest restaurant in this town.”
