CREST HILL – El Burrito Loco of Crest Hill will be closed until further notice as a result of a fire on Saturday.
There were no injuries. Customers and employees escaped safely, owner Adan Barrios said.
Staff called 911 at about 12:40 p.m. when they noticed smoke in the restaurant, said Barrios, who was not present at the time. Dark smoke could then be seen from the outside emitting from the roof of the building, located at 1659 Plainfield Road.
“Our main concern was customer and employee safety,” Barrios said. “Most importantly everyone made it out safe.”
He said the next step is to see if the inspector and insurance company can find the cause of the fire. Barrios said as of this time the building is not lost and the the owner intends to reopen whenever possible.
“We’ve been here 20 years,” Barrios said. “We have a lot of loyal customers. That’s why we’re not going to go anywhere. It means a lot to us.”
The fire comes on the same day the authentic Mexican cuisine restaurant chain opened its newest location in Lockport. Barrios said he and the staff are sad to lose one restaurant for the time being on the same day they open a new one. He encouraged customers in the area to visit Joliet, Lockport and Bolingbrook locations in the meantime.
“Once we figure out what happened we’ll get it solved and get good food going out of here again,” Barrios said.
A statement on the restaurant’s Facebook page read: “As you may have heard, our Crest Hill location caught fire today. We are all saddened by this but are glad to announce all of our employees and customers are safe. The location will remain closed until further notice. Thank you for your understanding.”
Calls to both the Lockport and Plainfield fire protection district offices were not immediately returned Saturday afternoon.