Popular Midtown Restaurant Works to Rebound From MLK Day Fire: Lucky Parade Timing Keeps Damage to a Minimum

Walkers at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Grande Parade were reminded that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Around 10:45 on Monday morning, parade participants saw plumes of dark smoke pouring out of a rooftop vent of a building on nearby Caroline Street.

A small fire had broken out in a kitchen vent hood at Weights + Measures. Luckily, the fire was contained to the vent and did not spread to the kitchen of the popular combination restaurant, bake shop, and bar at 2808 Caroline.

“Because of the parade being in such close proximity to our building, the Houston Fire Department was Johnny on the spot,” chef Richard Kaplan tells PaperCity. “They were right here. That’s part of the reason there was very little damage.”

There was “no real loss of anything,” except for some business and some product.” No one was harmed or injured during the incident. The parade was stalled for roughly an hour.

Around that time, Weights + Measures posted an update on its Facebook page:

“We experienced a small fire this morning. Our staff and customers are safe and unharmed. We will be closed today as we assess any damage and investigate the cause. Thank You to the Houston Fire Department for their swift action. Thank You to our fans and friends for all your concern! We will update you when we can.”

On Tuesday, they followed up with a post stating they were working around the clock and shooting for reopening on Friday.

Now, “Friday’s a little ambitious,” Kaplan says. “It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. We’ve run into a little inspection snafu.”

As soon as the inspector arrives — he is expected today — the hood can be repaired and the health department can scope out the situation.

If the inspector sticks to the schedule, “we might be able to open by brunch on Sunday, but certainly Monday,” Kaplan says. If the inspector doesn’t show, they’re in a jam a little while longer, and they will have to “tread water for another day or two.”

One good thing to counter the bad? There’s been an outpouring of affection and love for Weights + Measures from both customers and friends in the restaurant industry.

“My phone blew up, my manager’s phone blew up,” Kaplan says. “It has been heartwarming.”

Here’s hoping they’re able to hit their Sunday reopening date.