WILLIAMS -- A fire destroyed Granzella's Restaurant Thursday afternoon, leaving the owners and community devastated after the beloved Williams's landmark was engulfed in flames and collapsed in less than two hours.
"It's an historical building," said Williams Fire Chief Jeff Gilbert. "It'll be missed. Now that it's gone, it's going to really hurt the city?it employed 130 people. The owners said it's very vital to them to get it up and running again."
The restaurant is a favorite pit-stop for Lake County residents?located conveniently at the junction of Highway 20 and Interstate 5. For three decades, drivers to and from Lake County have kept their eyes peeled for the large, green Granzella's Restaurant billboard, knowing a full gourmet deli, restaurant, and sports bar would provide oasis from the dusty road.
"They made good sandwiches," said Morgan Cornell, 22, of Lakeport. She said she heard about the fire in the morning and recalled stopping there a few times when she was on the road. "Being in Lake County, you travel through there," she said.
The fire started at 3:21 p.m. in what appears to be one of the ovens in the kitchen, Gilbert said. "It was well involved in the attic by the time we got there; the common attic in the building is all attached and let the fire take it over. It was built that way because it was added and added to over the years."
He said 96 firefighters with 19 pieces of apparatus from five different counties worked to fight the flames. No one was hurt, and the 150 diners and 35 employees were safely evacuated.
"We were able to save most of the sports bar, there was some water damage, but firefighters were able to save 90 percent of the memorabilia," Gilbert said. The interior of the sports bar was lined with photographs, hunting memorabilia, and other treasures. And a polar bear stood guard near the restrooms. Gilbert said the family owners were at the fire and talking about restoring and rebuilding the restaurant as people remembered. "They're just waiting for the insurance to kick in," he said.
More than 60 percent of the building was destroyed, including the restaurant, delicatessen, bakery, kitchen and coffee shop. All that remains is a charred facade and old-Western style veranda. A newer motel across the parking lot remained untouched by the flames.
Gilbert said the fire department has determined the cause of fire was not suspicious, and that it originated in a kitchen oven. "Mainly the insurance company is going to take over the investigation from here?The owners have said they'd like to start constructing the new building as soon as possible."
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com |