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It was a rough weekend for Iron Chef Michael Symon: A fire broke out at his Cleveland, Ohio restaurant Lolita on Sunday afternoon. According to Cleveland.com, the fire began "near the oven," although the exact cause of the blaze has yet to be confirmed.
Symon relayed the bad news via Facebook yesterday afternoon, but was thankful that all his staff made it out safely and has vowed to rebuild:
thank you everyone for kind thoughts about Lolita fire...most importantly staff is safe & unharmed...damage to...
Posted by Michael D. Symon on Sunday, January 10, 2016
Per Cleveland.com, "While the first floor suffered mostly water damage, the offices on the second floor were almost completely destroyed," and one firefighter suffered minor injuries. The restaurant's website says it's "closed until further notice," noting that it "hope[s] to reopen as soon as possible."
Lolita, which opened in 2005, is just one of several restaurants owned and operated by the frequent Food Network star. His latest project, Mabel's BBQ, is slated to open this winter after numerous delays; there, Symon has said he intends to invent a whole new style of barbecue native to Cleveland.
