Fire causes $150K in damage, closure of Parkway Restaurant

SYCAMORE – A fire at the Sycamore Parkway Restaurant that caused an estimated $150,000 in damage to the business has community officials hoping for a speedy recovery.

The Sycamore Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at the diner at 11:15 p.m. Sunday. The fire – which was located in the kitchen – took 30 minutes for the firefighters to extinguish with assistance from four other fire departments. The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire and there were no injuries.

Sycamore Assistant Fire Chief Marc Doty said the state fire marshal turned the building back over to the owners at approximately 3:45 p.m. Monday after conducting an on-site investigation. The cause of the fire is undetermined, he said.

The owners – Angelo and Paula Tsiagalis – were still waiting to assess the damage Monday afternoon and had no immediate comment. 

Mayor Ken Mundy said it was one of the worst fires at a Sycamore business he can remember, and the closure of the restaurant is a big loss to the community – even if it is only temporary.

"This is a community issue now," Mundy said. "It's a big blow to the people who rely on it for income and for the folks who go there."

Mundy said he has been friends with Angelo and Paula Tsiagalis for years and hopes the insurance coverage and private assistance can help them recover quickly because there is no financial reserve or aid the city can offer.

Several of the windows at the restaurant were boarded up Monday morning, and the marquee outside the building informed customers it was temporarily closed.

One organization looking to help the restaurant reopen as quickly as possible is the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce. Rose Treml, executive director for the organization, said it can be difficult for businesses to plan for fires and other unexpected disasters, so the chamber tries to direct the business to resources and offer a blueprint for restarting.

"We know that small businesses, especially in our community, are the backbone," Treml said. "We will be there to help them rebuild when they are ready."

The silver lining on the cloud for Parkway Restaurant is that it is in Sycamore, where Treml said support is easy to find. She said businesses often find great community support and is confident the town will rally around the restaurant when the Tsiagalises are ready to reopen.