Those planning to have dinner in any of the restaurants located along the 100 block of King Street last Saturday night were either totally out of luck or had their plans somewhat delayed. All of the eateries on the north side were shut down from 6:04 p.m. on and those on the south side experienced delays of up to 30 minutes.
The culprit was a fire in an electrical transfer box at the rear of 111 King St., Bugsy's Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar, which disrupted power for the north side of the entire block. That restaurant as well as Landini's, The Fish Market, and others on the north side remained closed for the remainder of Saturday night.
Bugsy's did not reopen until Monday morning, according to manager Jose Paz. Others were able to open for normal business hours on Sunday, Aug. 26, according to their respective managers. Restaurants on the south side of the 100 block were able to continue operating Saturday evening after the half hour delay caused by precautionary evacuation, according to various spokespersons for those establishments.
Upon arrival of Engine 201, it was discovered that the fire in the electrical box at 111 King St. had already been extinguished. However, another power outage had occurred at 109 King St., Pops Old Fashioned Ice Cream Co., and smoke was coming from the attic areas at 119 King St., The Wharf Restaurant, and 121 King St., Il Porto Ristorante, according to Jane Malik, public information officer, Alexandria Fire Department.
Fire Command decided to shut down power to the entire north side of the 100 block of King Street as a precautionary measure following the arrival of Dominion Virginia Power. All businesses on that side of the street, directly impacted by the power alert, were required to make emergency repairs before power was restored, according to Malik.
The fire was classified as accidental resulting from a power overload. Damage was estimated at $20,000. No estimate of the loss of revenue to the various restaurants and other businesses was available.
<1b>—Chuck Hagee