On Saturday, Might 31, the workers on the Beacon Hill restaurant Homer had been closing down after the top of service once they smelled one thing burning. This isn’t uncommon at Homer, which facilities round a wood-fired oven, however this burning scent was completely different — plastic-y, poisonous. The exhaust hood was making a “unusual sound,” says Sara Knowles, who co-owns the restaurant together with her husband, Logan Cox. “They may simply inform one thing was not proper.”
Both Homer’s workers or tenants within the residences above the restaurant referred to as the hearth division, who arrived in a matter of minutes. “Thank God they did it once they did,” says Knowles. The hearth appears to have originated within the constructing’s duct system, and it may have brought about a lot worse harm if it hadn’t been put out when it was. Because it stands, the toilet was badly burned, and so had been elements of the ceiling. “In the event you’re standing in Homer proper now, you possibly can mainly lookup into the house [in the floor above],” says Knowles.
The eating room and the bar space had been mainly untouched, however Homer will nonetheless be closed quickly. In a Sunday Instagram publish, Knowles referred to as it “just about your worst nightmare as a restaurant proprietor” and stated, “we’re in shock.”
Knowles says that the “optimistic” timeframe is that it’s going to reopen in two weeks, nevertheless it may take so long as a month. Already, a remediation group — which cleans up fireplace harm — has began the method of coping with any particulate matter nonetheless within the air and guaranteeing there isn’t any mildew contained in the partitions. The most important a part of repairing the harm will likely be changing the ducts.
Knowles says that she’s grateful that nobody was harm within the fireplace, and that her workers had been there to note that one thing was fallacious earlier than the hearth unfold. She’s additionally grateful for the quantity of assist she and Cox have gotten within the two days because the fireplace broke out.
“We’ve got been blown away by the provides of assist,” she says. “Amongst the group, our neighbors, individuals who patronize the restaurant, and our wonderful group who’s on deck and prepared to assist.” It reminds her of an incident throughout the COVID lockdown period when Homer was damaged into and other people rallied round Homer by both shopping for reward playing cards to tide the restaurant over throughout its closure or exhibiting as much as change home windows and repaint. “It’s overwhelming in a great way,” she says of that stage of help.
Comply with Homer on Instagram for updates.
